Narutar: The Lost Saga
by MadokaKotone
Summary: Naruto X Avatar:TLA. When worlds collide, it's for a reason... Will the Avatar give Naruto the knowledge he needs to bring worldwide peace? SagaStory 9: Retrieval!
1. SagaStory 1: A New Story is Born

MadokaKotone: Hey guys! Time for something different to appear on your PC screens! I actually made this before encountering this website, but it wasn't in the right format. (I have so much written that when it's all altered and reformed it would stretch to be eight-to-ten chapters!) I basically have ten chaps done already! YOSH! Now I finally altered it to form the first chapter, so here you go!

Kotone: I think you need more than one Disclaimer this time-

Madoka: Yeah, yeah, now quit your yakking.

Kotone: I-It's _yapping-_

Madoka: Disclaimer, Please! (Disclaimer falls on Kotone)

Kotone: I-I-Itai…Help…

**DISCLAIMER: **FAN-fic should be self-explanatory already.

Madoka: (ignoring Kotone) Okay, now for the first chapter! Read on!

**-****Naruto****POV-**

(Konoha Training grounds)

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

"NO, Naruto, don't!"

Sakura's call was too late; Naruto already summoned a massive number of identical looking bodies. Leaping over the lashing flames of wrath around the training grounds, he charged toward his sensei,, "I'm gonna-" All of a sudden, he froze in his tracks.

"Uh!"

Sakura's eyes magnified, "Naruto!"

Sasuke swiveled around to face Naruto, slumping down to the ground like he was melting, "Sakura!" he called, "What happened?"

The pink-haired kunoichi darted her eyes toward the Uchiha, "His chakra's all used up! He can't move, Sasuke! What do we do?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and looked around the clearing they were held. This is bizarre; Kakashi never went this hard on us. _I don't think that man's Kakashi at all. What's going on? _His gaze fell back on Sakura, "Sakura! Bring Naruto somewhere safe! I have a bad feeling something's going to-"

"-Going somewhere?" Kakashi swiftly appeared behind Sasuke with a kunai in hand, "I was just getting warmed up!"

Sasuke's wrists clenched, "Ugh!" The black-haired boy flipped forward into the air and landed next to his teammates. He turned back at his sensei, "Kakashi-sensei, stop it! You're going too far!"

"Yeah!" Sakura yelled over the cackle and whip of the dancing flames around them, "He's out of chakra, maybe we should call it a-"

"-Sorry," The masked hentai performed hand signs, but they looked different than the regular hand techniques; his fingers bent unnaturally and twisted at peculiar angles to make bizarre hand signs. He then made a diamond shape out of his thumbs and fore-fingers and murmured, "Forbidden Dimension Jutsu!"

Sasuke and Sakura twitched.

"What the–"

"What's going on—"

The last thing they saw was a blinding light that shrouded everything in sight, and then everything else was a blur…

**-Avatar POV-**

(Somewhere in the Earth Nation)

While Katara, Aang, and Toph watched from a distance, Sokka and Appa were putting on a show,. Of course, Toph couldn't see, but she wasn't paying any attention anyway.

A faint, "Hey, hey, look at me!" could be heard rolling along the hills and boulders.

Toph gasped and stomped the ground with her palm, "Guys, someone's coming! And he's carrying something humongous!"

Katara chuckled, still looking ahead, "Hmm… like a flying bison?"

Toph cocked an eyebrow, "Huh?"

Suddenly a booming OOF! Rumbled the ground, concerning Toph. She stood up, "Guys, what do you see?... Huh?"

All she heard were fits of laughter beside her, "What's going on?"

Aang tried to explain the sudden outburst, but he double-backed in a new wave of laughs, so Katara had to talk, but only managed one word, "…BISON!!! HAHAHA!"

"Ugh," Toph groaned, disgusted, "You guys are so weird…"

Finally, Aang inhaled and exhaled a few times to calm his lungs, while Katara scampered to her brother's side, still giggling.

The avatar took one last sigh before he said to Toph, "…Appa just fell on Sokka…" Then he crashed back onto the soft grass with careless laughter, with Toph soon following when what Aang said to her finally sunk in.

(In the Clouds Above the Earth Nation)

Katara crawled towards Toph, "So… how's Sokka putting up?"

Toph turned around and narrowed her sea-green orbs, "Not so good, he keeps saying, 'Yue, why did you turn into seafood?' and trash like that."

Katara bit back a laugh, "Oh, ok, "The waterbender then scooted back to Aang, who was laying in the nook of his bison's neck, "We need to land; Sokka's getting delirious."

Aang then steered the flying bison toward the ground and into a patch of trees, "He's always delirious."

(Little Eden –the Patch of Trees)

As they got their sleeping bags and medical supplies out, Toph's ears perked up.

She bent down toward the soil and felt it. Her eyes narrowed. _Fire-nation._

"Guys!" The earthbender whispered. Katara and Aang looked at her. She muttered, "Some people are coming,"

"Fire-nation," Katara gaped, "How'd they find us already?"

Aang gritted his teeth, "Zuko."

All three dashed off into the bushels of leaves following the thump-thump of the quickening footsteps.

**-****Naruto****POV-**

(Some Unknown Forest)

"Ahh! Sasuke, wait up!" Sakura forced more chakra into her skinny leg muscles as the two ran faster and faster.

"Ugh, just hurry up! We need to find Naruto before he-" Sasuke took an abrupt stop.

Sakura gasped as she crossed her arms in front of her face, "Uhh!" Dust clouds shot everywhere from ninja shoes scraping the gravel. There was a moment of silence, then a bubblegum topped kunoichi broke the still air, "What it, Sasuke?"

He remained unmoving, kunai in hand, "Someone's here…watching us,"

"Where?"

"I don't know. Let's keep moving, but down let down your guard," Sasuke proceeded to sprint, with Sakura following him.

"Right."

Suddenly three figures appeared before them, and Sakura and Sasuke dropped into fighting stances instantly.

One of the shadows, holding a long rod, spoke. They sounded like a young boy their age, "You guys aren't Zuko," He sounded confused.

Then another slightly taller than him with one long braid, spoke softly, "I don't think they're fire nation; look at their clothes,"

Sakura scoffed, "What did you say about my-"

"-Sakura, be quiet-"

"-Right."

The last one with a oversized bump on their head thrust her right hand diagonally down and scrunched up her hand, "I don't think they're from this world; their outsiders!"

Suddenly a huge slanted rock shot up from the soil, seemingly pulled by an invisible thread from her hand.

Both Sakura and Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. Sakura stepped back. _It's that chakra?_

Sasuke gripped his kunai. _How did she do that?_ He then just decided to charge forward, having no idea of who he was charging at. He pulled his hand back to hurl the clutched kunai, when he was instantaneously blown back by a sudden gush of wind.

Sakura gasped, "Sas-" The medic-nin cupped her mouth and shut her emerald eyes when she heard the thud of Sasuke's backbone smacked hard on rocky soil.

She dazed at the three silhouettes just outside the clearing she was standing in. She silently sighed while doing hand signs. She gathered up chakra, preparing for her assault. She muttered to herself, "Sasuke…we're not in Konoha anymore."

Then Sakura charged.

**To Be Continued…**

**( A****/N: ) Okay, now that that's done; I'm going to go start altering the next chapter! **

**Oh, and I need help suggesting a pairing:**

**SasuSaku (Sasuke and Sakura)**

**Or**

**KataSasu**** (Sasuke and Katara)**

**Hmm… what do you guys think?**

**Vote in your review and the results will show up in the near future!**

**Catch Ya Later! Peace!**

**R.E.**


	2. SagaStory 2: New Findings, No Findings

Aheh heh heh… H-Hey guys… Long time, No… Update. Heh Heh… Well, I hope you like it anyway.

Disclaimer: Okay, I know what your thinking, that I'm gonna say something like "I do not own Naruto or Avatar whatsoever", right? …Well, I kinda have to say that.

_When worlds collide, people's lives intertwine. . ._

_Previously, on Narutar… _

"_Guys!"_ _The earthbender whispered. Katara and Aang looked at her. She muttered, "Some people are coming,"_

"_Fire-nation," Katara gaped, "How'd they find us already?"_

_Aang gritted his teeth, "Zuko."_

_-_

"_You guys aren't Zuko,"_

_-_

"_I don't think they're from this world; their outsiders!" Suddenly a huge slanted rock shot up from the soil, seemingly pulled by an invisible thread from her hand._

_-_

_She muttered to herself, "Sasuke…we're not in Konoha anymore."_

_Then Sakura charged._

**- Naruto POV-**

(Clearing)

"Take this!" As Sakura ran, two clones appeared beside her on both sides. In an instant, all three Sakuras pulled out shuriken from their pouches and hurled them to all three silhouettes.

After she threw the shuriken, her clones disappeared and she darted up into the trees. Sasuke was already up there waiting for her, "Okay, I've got a plan,"

"Whoa, when did you get up here?"

"Just listen to me. Use different techniques on them so I can analyze their fighting styles, got it? We need to be careful this time,"

"Right,"

Sakura paused and looked down at the silhouettes, conjuring up a plan. Smirking to herself, she jumped out of the tree into the clearing.

**-Avatar POV-**

Toph quickly guarded her group from the sharp objects with a rock wall. When she cast it aside, the girls were gone, "I don't know what happened, but it felt like there was sudden more people,"

Katara turned to her, "Yeah, she duplicated herself!"

Aang nodded, "Yeah, that was freaky. But I got to admit, that looked pretty cool,"

Katara sighed, "What do we do?"

"Let's see what they want with us first. If they're a threat, we'll have to fight,"

Toph sighed in relief, "Yes, I've been itching for a fight for awhile. And with the invasion about to happen, I need more training done,"

Aang nodded, "Right. They're still here, we need to be on our guard,"

Just then, the girl in the red reappeared from the treetops.

**- Naruto POV-**

(In the Treetops)

Naruto rested on another branch, "Geez, for a little forest this thing is huge!" He looked down at his clothes, they were grass-stained and shriveled from his fall into the canopy, "UGGHH! Why does this always happen to me?!"

After Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura got banished to another dimension, they landed in different places. Naruto is trying to find his teammates so that they could figure out what's going on, "Where could they possibly be?" After he dusted the last leaf off his jumpsuit, he dashed on, "WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!"

(Clearing)

Sakura just stood there for a few seconds, focusing chakra into her hands. Suddenly Sakura pummeled her fist into the ground, making the Earth crumble in front of her. Rocks slid up from underneath the three shadows, but instantly the rocks shifted back into the ground, back to their normal place. Sakura stood there, dumbfounded. _How in the world did that happen?_

Before Sakura could make her next move, a gust of wind knocked into her stomach. It swept her off her feet and she spun backwards and hit the dirt sideways with a thud. _Ouch._ Using her elbows, she propped herself up and turned to see them still standing there. _They deflected one of my most devastating attacks! How are they doing that? _Haruno gritted her teeth and, standing up, she faced them_. I don't know what your game is, but I'm gonna find out! _Inspecting them closer, Sakura made another plan. She looked at the surrounding trees, the boy's stick, and the little girl's arms. She huffed.

Taking out two kunai, she charged again; but this time, she flung them in a crescent shape. After releasing the kunai Sakura kept running this time. The girl pulled a rock to stop the kunai again, but they spun around behind them. While the group was distracted by the kunai, Sakura jumped onto the rock and flipped above them so she could hurl shuriken.

Predicting the swoop of wind from before, Sakura made the hand signs for Substitution Jutsu. When the wind got to her, a boulder was flung back in her place. Landing on the ground again, she used her quick speed to snatch the boy's rod and disappeared back to her spot in the clearing. Smirking, she held it out to them, "This is an interesting weapon,"

Sakura then heard a voice above her. She looked up see Sasuke motioning her to come back up, "Sakura,"

Haruno nodded, and jumped up into the tree.

**- Avatar POV-**

(On Appa Under Trees)

"Yue… Yue… Please come back…" Sokka was drifting off into his own world, Appa's weight seemingly having a great effect on him, "I can't marry the moon…"

"_WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!"_

"AHHH!" Sokka swapped out his boomerang and held it above his head. He shut his cerulean eyes with fear, "What do you want from me?! Don't eat me, please!!!"

Hearing nothing else, Sokka peeked one eye open. Confused, he looked around, but he didn't see anything, "…Great, now I'm hallucinating, guys… Guys?"

Being so freaked out from some random outburst, he didn't realize he was the only one there with Appa. Even Momo wasn't there, "Now they _ditch_ me while I'm _asleep_?! Thanks, guys. Sometimes you people make me feel _so_ loved," The water tribe boy then stuck his boomerang inside the pouch on his back, grabbed his weapon, and started to walk.

He turned back to Appa, "Appa, watch our stuff while I go fetch my 'loving' friends, and try not to attract attention to yourself," Giving a salute, he turned around to smack right into a tree trunk, "OW!"

Appa growled.

**-Naruto POV-**

(In the Canopy)

Naruto hopped along a little further, and in a few moments he was at the edge of the forest, "Whoa, this patch of trees really isn't so big as it seems," Uzimake then dove from the branch onto the ground and looked out onto the open field of grass in front of him. With no houses in sight, he whispered to himself, "Hmmm, no one to question… Well, Sasuke and Sakura must've already left this forest… Besides,"

Naruto turned around, "I only saw one person in there, and he had a huge monster with him… I want to learn how summon one of those after I find them!" Tightening his hair band, the boy started his trek across the green sea.

**-Avatar POV-**

(Clearing)

"Toph, behind you!"

"Got it," Toph then kicked the ground and another hard wall shot up from behind them, "It's hard to see something that's not on the--"

"Aang, above you!"

The airbender held out his hand to shoot a gust of air, but instead of hitting the girl, he hit a rock, "What the-Hey, that's my--"

Aang's call was too late; the ninja suddenly stole his forgotten glider within seconds. She reappeared in the clearing, "This is an interesting weapon,"

"Humph," Aang clenched his teeth. Katara then cupped his ear.

"Hey Aang, I know how we can beat them,"

"Do tell,"

Katara whispered, "All we have to do is bind their hands,"

**-Naruto POV-**

"Sakura, bind their hands,"

"What? Why?"

Sasuke shushed her, "I see how they fight: they control elements by using hand techniques. If you can bind their hands, then they're helpless,"

"Okay, why didn't I think of that?"

**-Avatar POV-**

Aang gasped, "Oh, right! How'd I not think of that?"

Toph spoke up, "What, why?"

Katara turned to her, "Well, you can't see it, but they use different techniques by making signs with their hands. If you bind their hands, we have a big advantage,"

Toph nodded, "No problem… I wonder how Sokka's doing. We didn't even tell him we were leaving,"

Aang smiled, "I'm sure he's fine. He's probably still sleeping like a baby: No harm whatsoever,"

(Somewhere in forest)

"Ow…OW.. OWIE OW, Who puts all these trees here?!" Sokka ran into yet another tree in his search for his teammates, "I could've been sleeping like a baby, but NO, _someone _has to wake me up! 'No, Sokka, it was _your_ imagination who woke yourself up', Oh, please, It's not like I hear voices all the time-"

"OW!"

"AHHH! WHO'S THERE?!" Sokka, boomerang already out, pointed his weapons toward a bush, "C-Come out! I'm n-not afraid of you! …Maybe,"

The bush didn't move for a second, but suddenly it shifted, and a small boy came out, "Huh? Who are you? Are you a ninja, too?"

"What the--" Sokka's whole face contorted in confusion, "Ninja?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. What village are you from?"

"Uhhh, the Water Tribe Village?"

The boy rubbed his chin, "I have never heard of that one… Well, what's your name?"

The water tribe boy was debating on whether he should tell him or not, "…Sokka. Yours?"

The boy smiled and gave Sokka a thumbs-up sign, "My name is Rock Lee!"

**To Be Continued…**

**Heck Yes!!! I'M SO SORRY for the (very) late update, but you all know how school is… (COUGH) especially high school (COUGH), so yeah.**

**I hope you liked this chapter, even though it was just a plot-setter. ;) The next one will be the start of the real action (EEE! I can't wait to update it, I've already started!)**

**Preview for Next Chapter (in Naruto's Point of View): "UGH! I still haven't found Sasuke and Sakura! Where the heck are they? Wait-What? Why are Tenten and Neji in this town? Did they get banished, too? What's this?! WHOA! GAARA?!?!**

**Reviews would be cool, I still don't know: SasuSaku or KataSaku. Please Vote!**


	3. SagaStory 3: Stirring Chaos Flames

Okay! Woo! Up and running! Now… Here's the next chapter, complete with Disclaimer!

Disclaimer: **FAN**fic**FAN**fic**FAN**fic**FAN**fic**FAN**fic**FAN**fic**FAN**fic…

OH, and Before I forget, on the last chapter I accidentally put KataSa_ku_ when it was supposed to be **KataSa**_**su**_ LOL, sorry guys, but I don't swing that way. NOW on with the story…

_When Worlds Collide, people come to realize…_

_Previously, on Narutar…_

_Katara sighed, "What do we do?"_

"_Let's see what they want with us first. If they're a threat, we'll have to fight,"_

_-_

_Sokka turned back to Appa, "Appa, watch our stuff while I go fetch my 'loving' friends, and try not to attract attention to yourself,"_

_-_

_With no houses in sight, he whispered to himself, "Hmmm, no one to question… Well, Sasuke and Sakura must've already left this forest… Besides," Naruto turned around, "I only saw one person in there, and he had a huge monster with him… I want to learn how summon one of those after I find them!" Tightening his hair band, the boy started his trek across the green sea._

_-_

_Katara whispered, "All we have to do is bind their hands,"_

_-_

"_Sakura, bind their hands,"_

_-_

_The water tribe boy was debating on whether he should tell him or not, "…Sokka. Yours?"_

_The boy smiled and gave Sokka a thumbs-up sign, "My name is Rock Lee!"_

**- Naruto POV-**

(Clearing)

Sakura jumped down from the tree, this time Sasuke did as well.

One of the shadows spoke up, "I see your boyfriend came down to help you. You need it anyway,"

Sakura blushed, "He's not my--"

"Sakura,"

"Right," Sakura blushed even harder, clutching the boy's rod tight.

Sasuke got in his fighting stance, "Get ready,"

**-Avatar POV-**

"Get ready,"

Katara and Toph nodded.

In an instant, Aang came out from the shadows and got into his own fighting stance, "Gimme my staff back,"

Sakura gathered up courage, "Humph, come and get it!"

**-Naruto POV-**

(Sunset Village, Earth Nation)

"Cooome aaand get it!"

Naruto turned to his left and spotted a small restaurant. Whiffing a sweet smell of meat and noodles, he scampered inside, "I hope they have ramen! If they do, Sakura and Sasuke can wait!" Naruto brushed away the flap from the entrance and he was welcomed with a delicious smell of salted pork, "Ahhhh, just like home…"

As we walked to find a table, some of the townspeople gave him funny looks. A boy with brown hair stared at him, but then went back to counting his silver coins.

Taking a seat in a table by a window, Naruto called a waiter. After a few hand waves, an old man came over, "Hello, boy. What would you like today?"

Uzimake tilted his head, "Ummm, Is there any chance you have miso ramen and pork here?"

The old man rubbed his chin and looked up, "Hmmm..." Then he shook his head, "I'm sorry, yesterday the F-"Before continuing, he scanned the area, making sure no one else was listening to him, "The Fire Nation took half of our supplies, including our meat,"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, _Fire Nation? Isn't the Leaf_ _Village_ _in the Land_ _of Fire? _His thoughts were interrupted by the juicy smell of pork again, and he scrunched up his nose, "But old man, why do I smell pork?!"

-

Two figures walking in an alleyway by the small café heard a familiar voice, and they ran to the nearest window to check if they were right, "Is that-?"

"It is!"

Then the two people ran around the corner to get to the entrance, "How is he here, too?"

"I don't know, let's ask him,"

-

The old man lifted his eyebrows, "Oh, that? We have special orders from the Fire Nation troops. Those men can get very…" He looked far-off for a second, but then he looked at Naruto, "Hungry," Then, the old man smiled.

Naruto pouted, "Oh," Then the old man started walking away, and Naruto could see a vertical scar, about a foot long, on the back of his right leg. _Whoa…_ He gulped… After a few moments, he just remembered that he didn't order yet, "H-Hey! Old Man! YOU DIDN'T---AH!"

Before he could do anything else, two people grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the restaurant, "HEY! What the heck?! Let me go!"

"Calm down, Naruto!"

"Huh?" Naruto looked up; he had to tilt his head back all the way to see who said his name, "Tenten?"

(Alleyway Near a Shop)

"Tenten? Neji?! W-W-What are _you_ guys doing here?"Naruto, Tenten, and Neji were sitting in a dusty alley, hiding in the shade so that they couldn't be seen. Neji spoke up,

"Even I don't know why we're here. We were training with Gai Sensei when we suddenly ended up here,"

Naruto nodded, "Hm, that creep with the turtle. No wonder,"

Tenten smacked him, "Well, you're here, too. Don't blame Gai Sensei!"

Naruto took off his headband to inspect it, "I can't think of anybody _to_ blame," Green stains were smudged all over it and in the cracks of the Leaf Village symbol, "Aww, dang it. How'd stuff get in _there_?"

**-Avatar POV-**

(Little Eden)

"How'd you get _here_? You don't look like you're from here," Sokka said confused, sheathing his boomerang back in its place.

Rock Lee shrugged, "I don't know. One minute I'm training with Gai Sensei and the next I turned up here," Lee looked around, "And I don't even know where 'here' is,"

Sokka rubbed his chin, "Well, judging from your story… and your clothes…" He inspected Rock Lee, "…I have absolutely no idea where you could possibly have come from,"

The boy slumped, "Well, thanks for trying to try," He then gave Sokka another thumbs-up sign, "I shall be going now, Sokka. It seems I've lost my teammates,"

Sokka then gave him a lazy salute and they trudged off in different directions. After a moment of sorting out his thoughts, Sokka felt bad for the guy; so he turned around and ran up to meet him, "Hey, I'll help you find your teammates,"

Rock Lee's eyes sparkled, "Really?!"

Sokka gave him his own thumbs-up sign and a cheeky smile, "What are friends for?" Then, looking down at the ground, he sighed, "I'm also looking for my friends,"

Lee turned to him, "Are they lost, too?"

"No, they just ditched me so I gotta go find them. We need to leave this place to get some supplies,"

"Are you guys on a mission?"

Sokka looked at him funny, "I guess… you could say that,"

"Allllllright!" Punching the air, Rock Lee cheered, making Sokka a little uncomfortable. Lee turned to him, "Tell you what: if you help me with my mission, I'll help you with yours," Rock Lee held out his hand.

Sokka tilted his head to the side. _This guy must've fallen a little too hard… but... _Then, seeing that Lee didn't move, he shook his hand, "Fine, It's a deal," _He looks trustworthy._

**-Naruto POV-**

(Damaged Clearing)

Sakura huffed as she charged again, only to get swept off her feet for the umpteenth time, _Geez! Why isn't anything working?!_ Glancing at Sasuke, he appeared to be slightly out of breath as well.

The boy in orange and yellow was breathing hard, too. The fight had stretched, and all three of them had some bruises. Sasuke managed to get some hits on Aang due to his agility. One of the girls was calling him, "Aang! Aang! Are you okay?"

Sakura thought to herself, _Aang? That's an odd name. _She then got up and took out a kunai. _But, odd name or not, he's still good. Even Sasuke…_ Turning to Sasuke, she saw him sprint to Aang again and jumped up to get a hit on him, only to get spun around by a dirt devil. _Can't manage that much hits…_THUNK. Something hit the ground beside her.

It was a log.

Sakura gasped to herself, "Uh! …Whew…" She turned back to see Sasuke and said Aang facing each other, tension hanging in the forest air, "Be careful…"

"Sakura, get away from here!"

The kunoichi gaped, "What?!"

Sasuke talked without tearing his eyes off Aang, "Get out of this forest, I'll catch up with you,"

Sakura stayed for a moment, then she looked toward an opening in the clearing; a long path with sunrays falling through. She nodded, "Okay, meet me--"

"GO!"

"Aheh!" Sakura clutched the kunai in one hand and Aang's rod in the other, and disappeared in an instant.

One of the shadows yelled, "Where does she think she's going?"

"Go after her, Katara," the shorter one spoke, "I'll help Aang take this loser down,"

"Don't hurt him too much…"

"Why not?"

"Ahh… never mind," Blushing, the braided girl ran off.

Sasuke and Aang continued to stare each other down as the girls started the chase. Sasuke spoke, "So," They started to circle each other, strengthening the tension, "You're pretty good… for a little kid,"

Aang frowned, "Just to let you know, I'm a hundred and twelve years old,"

Sasuke snorted, "Oh really?" Suddenly, the Uchiha disappeared, and reappeared behind the boy, "Heh. You weren't kidding,"

Aang gasped and slowly turned around; Sasuke held him still with a kunai at his throat, "H-Hey!"

Sasuke smirked, "You're as slow as an old man,"

Aang tilted his head down, then smiled, "Oh, yeah? Watch this!" Twirling his hands before Sasuke got a chance to bind them; Aang spun upwards out of his grasp and spiraled into the tree tops, "Beat that!"

Sasuke growled, and jumped up to catch up to Aang in the trees, only to get pulled back by a rock-bind around his feet, "Uhh!" Suddenly Sasuke got smashed into the ground on his face, and yelled in pain.

The little girl chuckled, "Whoops. Katara told me not to hurt you too much, but… I didn't promise anything. Ha-ha," Toph then retracted her hands to her sides and stomped her feet, then she forced her palms out in front of her, forcing rocks to shoot out of the ground and batter Sasuke from behind, "Oooo, ouch,"

"AHHH!" Sasuke shot into the canopy and cursed after he hit a branch, _What is with these people?! I can't seem to land a hit on them! _Then getting up on the branch, Sasuke grabbed some Shuriken. He looked up at Aang and glowered, _Now I'm mad!!!_ Sasuke then made and hands for his Fireball Jutsu, and put his hand up to his mouth, "Fireball Jutsu!!!"

A flurry of flames projected out of his mouth, showering the little boy with crimson-orange whisps. Sasuke heard the boy scream something, but he didn't care. The ninja charged at Aang full speed and elbowed him in the stomach at full force.

"ACH!" The boy choked and his eyes widened, "OOF!" He was bound to a tree, face-to-face with a trembling Uchiha. He had his head down for a moment, but as soon as he lifted it he stared deep into shimmering charcoal eyes, illuminated from the glow of the flames.

Then, in a flash, Sasuke Uchiha was gone.

**-Naruto POV-**

(Alleyway)

The young man with brown hair from before walked by the alleyway, spotting blond hair. He gasped and walked over to the boy he saw in the cafe, "Hey, were you the guy in the restaurant?"

Naruto looked at him and frowned, "What about it?" Neji and Tenten looked at the boy, too.

He just smiled, "Don't worry; I don't want to hurt you or anything. We can't Earthbend here anyway,"

Tenten looked confused, "Earthbend?"

The boy looked confused as well, "You don't know what Earthbending is?"

Tenten and Naruto shook their heads. Neji just closed his eyes, folded his arms, and leaned against the alley wall.

The boy looked bewildered. Then he looked left, right, and behind him. Signaling them with his finger, he said, "Well, come with me, then,"

The boy led them into the place right next to the alley they were in. he then shut the door and the window in a flash, making the three ninjas alarmed. He then turned around and started speaking in a whisper, "Okay, first things first, my name is Haru,"

"_AHHHH!!!_ _LET ME GO, YOU MONSTER!!!"_

All four of them gasped and ran out of the shop. What they came to surprised them all to no end.

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes, "Why is _he_ here?"

**- Avatar POV-**

(Little Eden)

"So…"

"So…"

Sokka and Lee have been walking quite a ways, but both of them haven't been able to find their teammates. Sokka then initiated a conversation, "So, where did you come from?" The water tribe boy looked at Lee's clothes again, trying to imagine a whole village looking like that. Sokka cupped his mouth.

Lee looked at him, "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

Sokka quickly shook his head, "Oh, I'm (gag) fine, I'm fine," He turned around for a second, and then breathed. He asked a another question to get his mind off of that subject, "Well, tell me about your teammates,"

Lee rubbed his chin, "Hmm, well, the girl on my team is Tenten. She loves weaponry and is very good at using it,"

Sokka nodded, "Hm, that's cool. I like weapons, too, but I only have this stick-thingy and my trusty boomerang. Heh, trust me, when they say boomerangs come back, they weren't kidding!"

Rock Lee smiled, "Whatever suits you. My other teammate is…" He furrowed his brows for a moment, "…Neji Hyuuga. A genius, a respected genin... and my biggest rival,"

Sokka tilted his head, "Your biggest rival is one of your teammates? How?"

Lee, "We were always like that. Neji, being able to do anything from sheer natural talent, while I was working my butt off everyday. I wanted to prove that hard work could overpower natural talent," Lee turned to a bored looking Sokka, "Cause you see…" He looked down, "I can't do most of the abilities that all the other ninjas can. I can only rely on myself,"

That piqued Sokka's interest; he could relate to this guy after all, "Hey, I feel your pain; I can't do any of the things my travel buddies can; I can't bend water or air like them,"

"Bend…?"

**-Avatar POV-**

(Katara, Forest Floor)

"Hey! Hey!" Katara kept running as fast as she could, but she couldn't seem to catch up to the girl. She then thought of her name, _What_ _was her name? I think it was a flower…_

"_H-Hey!_ _He's not my—"_

"_Sakura,"_

Katara remembered, "Oh, yeah. SAKURA!!!"

In a heartbeat, Sakura stopped. She turned around and stared at Katara, "How did you know my name?"

Katara finally caught up to her, and she breathed, "The guy you were with said it a couple times,"

Sakura blushed, "Who, Sasuke? …Oh,"

The water tribe girl sighed, "Look, unlike my friend Aang, I don't want to fight you guys,"

Sakura sighed as well, "Well, that's good. I hope Sasuke's okay, Aang is really strong,"

Katara laughed, "Oh, don't get Aang wrong, he won't kill anyone intentionally. He's a sweet kid,"

The girl with pink hair nodded, "Okay," Then she chuckled nervously, "Well, Sasuke shouldn't go too far then. Heh heh…"

It was silent for a bit, but Sakura spoke up, "Oh, here's his stick-thingy, then. Sorry about that,"

Katara gasped, "Oh, right! Oh, no, it's okay. You're an awesome fighter, Sakura,"

The girl blushed, "Well, don't give me too much credit. I'm the weakest one on my team. Even Naruto is better than me,"

The water tribe girl looked at her funny, "Naruto?"

Sakura tured to her, "Right! Naruto is my other teammate Sasuke and I are trying to find. Even though he can be hyper, annoying, very slow, annoying," Sakura's eyes started to slant, "Dumb, a brat—"

"—Haha, Sakura?"

"Hmm? Oh, heh. Even though he can be a big dork sometimes, he really cares for the people he loves. He's never really had a family, you know?"

Katara nodded, "I do," Then she started walking to the edge of the forest, "Well, you guys are trying to find Naruto, huh? I think my friends and I can help,"

Sakura gleamed, "Thanks, Katara,"

Katara then started to walk in another direction, and Sakura asked her what she was doing. Katara replied, "Why travel on foot when you have a two-ton flying bison too ride on?"

Sakura gaped.

Walking further on, the sound of the cackle-and-whip of flames reached the girls' ears. They looked at each other fearfully, each thinking different scenarios. Katara yelled, "Follow me!"

Sakura bit her lip, speaking to herself, "Sasuke..."

(With Sokka and Lee)

Sokka chuckled, "Oh, right. You're not from here," He instantly put on his mustache and beard (or 'Physiatrist's Disguise'), grabbed Rock Lee's shoulders, and turned him around. Talking in a rough voice, he said, "Okay, young man, I'll let you in on the info concerning my world: In the Avatar World, There are four elements that can be 'bended', or controlled. Those elements are: Fire, Earth, Water, and Air—"

"—WAIT! You can control one of those elements? Teach me! Teach me!" Rock Lee started jumping in the air.

Sokka shook his head and started in his gruff voice again, "No no no, it is only obtained if you were born with the talent. I wasn't born with it, but a lot of people are. So I'm not a—oh, wait, let me start from the beginning—I got this from my sister, hold on… Ahem," Sokka rubbed his hands, "Okay…Water. Earth. Fire. Air… Long ago, the four Nations lived together in harmony. Then, the—"

"FIRRRE!!!!!"

Sokka and Lee spun around to see Aang running toward them with Toph.

Sokka cheered, "Aang! Toph! I'm so glad to see—"

"—Yeah, yeah," Toph waved him off, and Aang ran up to him,

"Sokka! This forest is about to burn to a crisp!"

"What? Is Zuko here?"

"No!!! These two people that looked like they were from a different world showed up and we started fighting them! Katara is now who-knows-where and I ended up fighting a Firebender!!!"

"What did he look like?"

"Well, he had black eyes, bluish-black hair, and he had a black suit on!"

Rock Lee gasped. _Wait a minute… Black eyes, Bluish-black hair, and a black suit… That's-- _He popped up over Sokka's shoulder, "Sasuke!"

Aang jumped back and tilted his head, "Sokka… who's that?"

Sokka looked at Lee, "Oh, this guy? His name's Rock Lee. He's lost his teammates, says he comes from another world. I met him while trying to find you guys after you _ditch_ me!"

Toph laughed, "Awww, poor Sokka," 

Aang looked worried, "That's great Sokka, but, have you seen Katara?"

Sokka shook his head, "Aang, I've been trying to find you guys! You think I'd be looking for her after I already found her?!"

Aang frowned, "Darn it. She chasing after that girl, still," He then sighed in frustration, "Uuugh! And she has my glider," Aang then started to pace.

Rock Lee questioned Aang, "What did this girl look like?" _If Sasuke is here, then Naruto and Sakura should be here!_

Since Toph couldn't describe someone she couldn't see, Aang spoke up, "The only thing I remember was pink hair,"

Rock Lee jumped three feet in the air, "YES! SAKURA IS HERE!" He then touched ground and ran up to Aang, "Did you see what direction they went in?!"

Aang's eyes widened into little orbs and he leaned back, "Uhh…" He turned to Toph, "Toph? I bet you can find them with your ears,"

Toph nodded, and she kicked the ground with her heel. After focusing her energy, she pointed her arm in Sokka's direction, "That way!"

Sokka nodded in agreement, "Well, they must be heading towards Appa, let's go,"

Rock Lee questioned Sokka, "Who's Appa?"

"No one, just a two-ton magical flying bison," So Lee (dazingly), Sokka, Aang and Toph all rushed after Katara and Sakura who were going back to the campsite, while Sasuke is jumping from tree to tree, trying to get to the edge of the burning forest.

**-Naruto POV-**

(Alleyway)

A shinobi was sitting in a dark alleyway, perched against his gourd. Flaming red hair was disguised by the fact that the shadows were dark enough to make it look dark brown. He was staring at the crystal blue sky, watching clouds drift aimlessly across a cerulean road. Little did he know that he was in the same alleyway as Naruto, Neji, and Tenten.

He started to direct some sand out of his gourd, when he felt a presence nearby.

"Hey, you guys aren't supposed to be Earthbending around this town,"

The shinobi kept bending the sand, only to get interrupted again,

"Hey, I said you guys couldn't—ACK!" In seconds, the man was pulled into the alleyway with a hand made of sand, and the boy looked him in the eye,

"You die here,"

"AHHHH!!! LET ME GO, YOU MONSTER!!!"

Gaara showed the slightest emotion, but he still felt nostalgic. He then let the man go, and swirled away in a smooth dust twister.

**-Avatar POV-**

(Clearing)

Katara and Sakura got to the campsite, only to find Appa spazzing out; the fire spread like a tidal wave and ended up eating around the clearing they settled in the night before. Katara rushed to the bison and tried to calm him down, with Sakura trailing behind her. Katara then turned to Sakura and shouted over the dancing flames, "Sakura! Try to calm him down while I try to put some of the fire out!"

Sakura wondered who she was going to do that, but she nodded, "Okay!"

Katara then ran over to one of the trees burning the brightest, and opened her canteen. Then, using her hands, Katara bended water like a ribbon out from the jug and lashed the fire with a clean sweep. Using her different whipping techniques, Katara was able to get one tree doused… only for it to get eaten once again from it's neighboring giants. She sighed in frustration, "Dang it!"

Sakura just stared at her in amazement, _Wow, what was that?! _

"SAKURA!!!"

The kunoichi turned around to see Rock Lee, Sokka, Toph, and Aang running towards Appa and her. She wheezed, "Lee! (Cough Cough)!"

Soon after; Katara, covered in ash with her hair all over the place, started coughing and sputtering, too.

Aang called out to her, "Katara!"

The water tribe girl turned to see her friends, but she couldn't say anything, "Aa—(Cough)!!!"

Sokka shrieked, "Everyone get on Appa!"

Aang panicked, "Appa, calm down, buddy!" He looked at Sokka, "Sokka! Where's Momo?!"

Sokka shrugged, "I thought he ditched me, too!"

Suddenly they heard Sakura scream, "Get this rat offa me!!!" Everyone looked to see Momo clung to Sakura's face. Aang crawled back off of Appa to retrieve him, "Momo!"

"Cough Cough!"

"COUGH!!!"

Sokka yelled, "COME ON! WE GOTTA GO!"

Everyone rushed to get on the flying bison: Katara and Sokka helped Toph, Aang airbended up, and Sakura and Lee jumped high enough to land on his back. Appa gave one last growl before he lifted his tail and pushed himself off the ground.

After they were in the air; Katara, Sokka and Aang looked back down at the burning forest, while Sakura and Lee were too shocked to even move at the fact that they are on a magical flying... creature.

Aang sighed, "That's going to look suspicious,"

Sokka turned to him, "Ya don't say?"

**To Be Continued…**

**WHOOP WHOOP! HECK YES! **

**Done with yet another SagaStory (this is my favorite one so far, but that's just me)!!!**

**Alright, still looking for pairs (I can't do that much, though, just vote on your favorite)**

**Okay, Reviews are highly appreciated, I'll get back to you on those; I'd love to hear from you guys!**

**Preview for Next Chapter: "SAKURA! SASUKE! FINALLY! Wait, what? Who's Zuko?! And he has _who_ custody? HUH?! HINATA?!"**

**Trust me guys, I know what I'm doing. I'm actually rewriting some of this according to scripts I wrote from a long ways back, so I'm not just adding random characters. LOL **

**If that preview changed your mind about pairings, then Review! Speak your mind! PEACE! **


	4. SagaStory 4: Reunions and Reports

**Hey, Look! I'm done! **

**Disclaimer: "Does it look like I own Avatar and Naruto? **

**Oh, look, I don't. Waddaya know?"**

–**Rhyme made in two seconds. LOL On with the Chapter—I mean SagaStory!**

_What they have been made..._

_Previously, on Narutar…_

_The old man lifted his eyebrows, "Oh, that? We have special orders from the Fire Nation troops. Those men can get very…" He looked far-off for a second, but then he looked at Naruto, "Hungry," Then, the old man smiled._

_Naruto pouted, "Oh," Then the old man started walking away, and Naruto could see a vertical scar, about a foot long, on the back of his right leg. Whoa… He gulped… After a few moments, he just remembered that he didn't order yet, "H-Hey! Old Man! YOU DIDN'T---AH!"_

_Before he could do anything else, two people grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the restaurant, "HEY! What the heck?! Let me go!"_

"_Calm down, Naruto!"_

"_Huh?" Naruto looked up; he had to tilt his head back all the way to see who said his name, "Tenten?"_

_-_

"_Are you guys on a mission?"_

_Sokka looked at him funny, "I guess… you could say that,"_

"_Allllllright!"_ _Punching the air, Rock Lee cheered, making Sokka a little uncomfortable. Lee turned to him, "Tell you what: if you help me with my mission, I'll help you with yours," Rock Lee held out his hand._

_Sokka tilted his head to the side. This guy must've fallen a little too hard… but... Then, seeing that Lee didn't move, he shook his hand, "Fine, It's a deal," He looks trustworthy._

_-_

"_Hey, I said you guys couldn't—ACK!" In seconds, the man was pulled into the alleyway with a hand made of sand, and the boy looked him in the eye,_

"_You die here,"_

"_AHHHH!!!_ _LET ME GO, YOU MONSTER!!!"_

_Gaara showed the slightest emotion, but he still felt nostalgic. He then let the man go, and swirled away in a smooth dust twister._

_-_

_Sokka shrieked, "Everyone get on Appa!"_

_Aang panicked, "Appa, calm down, buddy!" He looked at Sokka, "Sokka! Where's Momo?!"_

_Sokka shrugged, "I thought he ditched me, too!"_

_Suddenly they heard Sakura scream, "Get this rat offa me!!!" Everyone looked to see Momo clung to Sakura's face. Aang crawled back off of Appa to retrieve him, "Momo!"_

"_Cough Cough!"_

"_COUGH!!!"_

_Sokka yelled, "COME ON! WE GOTTA GO!"_

_Everyone rushed to get on the flying bison: Katara and Sokka helped Toph, Aang airbended up, and Sakura and Lee jumped high enough to land on his back. Appa gave one last growl before he lifted his tail and pushed himself off the ground._

_After they were in the air; Katara, Sokka and Aang looked back down at the burning forest, while Sakura and Lee were too shocked to even move at the fact that they are on a magical flying... creature._

_Aang sighed, "That's going to look suspicious,"_

_Sokka turned to him, "Ya don't say?"_

**-Avatar POV-**

(Fire Nation Ship)

Metallic footsteps of a young Firebender could be heard as they echoed through the steel hallways of a seized Fire Nation ship. The rhythmic clink-clink of black chains could also be heard, jingling in sync with feeble footfalls. They were the footsteps of a little girl. Her white eyes brimmed with tears, and illuminated red in the dim light of the crimson hall. Dried blood could be seen on the side of her mouth, and she waddled in an unsteady beat.

The Firebender turned a corner, yanking the black jail ribbons to force the girl to go faster. They walked a couple steps when the young teen came to their destination, a doorway on the left. They kicked it open, and the eerie screeching noise it produced made the girl grit her teeth. The firebender turned to her, "Get in here,"

The girl stared at the person in front of her with wide eyes, "N-No…"

The Firebender then grabbed the girl's wrist, shoved her against the wall, and snorted in her face, "Don't disobey me, you peas—"

"—AZULA!"

Both girls turned their heads to see a young Fire Nation boy stomping towards them. Azula spoke, "Oh, Zuzu. Playing 'Prince Charming' to peasants now, aren't you?"

"Don't joke with me today, Azula; I'm in a pretty bad mood right now,"

"Like you're ever in a good mood," Azula chuckled at this, still clutching the poor girl's wrist.

The girl winced, "Ah…ah…"

Zuko looked at her, and frowned at his sister, "Let her go! Can't you tell she's innocent?"

Azula cocked her eyebrow, "You don't know the meaning of innocent," At this Zuko flared his nostrils, but Azula kept talking, "If you want her so bad, keep her. Have fun,"

"Wait—Wha—" Before he could respond, his sister shoved the girl in his direction, forcing him to catch her, "Azula, wait!"

She was already gone.

Zuko looked down, and he set the girl down gently on a wall, "We need to get you cleaned up,"

The girl only nodded, making the chain around her neck chink, "Thank you,"

Zuko raised his brows, "It's nothing. My sister captures anyone when she's bored…" He looked to see if anyone else was in the hallway, watching him talk to a "peasant", "What's your name?"

The girl looked up, and he looked surprised when he saw that she had pale, white eyes. She spoke in her weak voice, "Hinata,"

**-Naruto POV-**

Sasuke waited in the field surrounding the burning forest, watching the flames lick the little giants to death. He frowned. _Sakura, where are you? _

Suddenly, he heard something roar above the cracking fire sounds. It was a flying creature that flew out from the forest and soared high into the atmosphere. He was awestruck, "What the—" He shook his head, thinking that what he saw just an illusion, or genjutsu. Sasuke glared at the ground, thinking that he saw Sakura riding on that thing, along with the girl with the long brown hair. He gazed up again, and, seeing the giant flying North, decided to follow it.

Sasuke started to run…

**-Narutar POV-**

(On Appa)

Sakura sighed, "I hope Sasuke's alright," She felt really guilty for having abandoned him in that forest.

Katara reassured her, "I'm sure he's fine,"

"Don't worry yourself, he's alive,"

They all turned to Toph. She was laid back on the humongous saddle, feet on top of one another.

Lee questioned her, "How are you so sure?"

Toph blew some bangs out of her face, "Trust me, I'm psychic,"

Sokka shook his head, "No, you're not!" Then he turned to Lee and whispered, "She's blind. Don't pay that much attention to her—"

"—I heard that, Elephant Ears,"

"How do you know I have—I mean how can you see my big—I mean, UGH!" Sokka folded his arms in frustration, and everybody laughed.

Katara crawled over to the edge of the saddle, looking down at the little airbender hunkered down in the nook of Appa's neck, "Tired?"

"No, just thinking,"

Katara tilted her head, ignoring the commotion behind her, "About what?"

He talked to her, still gazing ahead, "I thought I saw a red air balloon,"

Katara gasped, "You don't mean…"

Aang frowned, "Yeah. We had company,"

**-Narutar POV-**

(Sunset Village)

Naruto, Neji, Tenten, and Haru all gazed in horror at the sight of what they saw. Naruto called in rage, "GAARA!"

In an instant, the Sand Village shinobi disappeared in a whirl of sand.

The Fire Nation guard dropped like a sack of potatoes to the ground, and all four of them rushed down the alley to help him.

Haru got to him last, seeing that the rest of them were ninja and could run faster then Aang when he sneezes. He helped them get the guy to the wall, but the Guard looked unconscious. Haru bit his lip, "We should get him to my Dad's shop,"

Neji looked up, "The one we were in?"

Haru nodded, and so they then picked him up and carried him to the side window. But as they tried to throw him in there head first, the Guard's head went smack into the window. He grumbled a bit, and almost opened his eyes—but they knocked his head against the window again and he fell back into unconsciousness.

Haru closed his mouth, "Oops, I locked the window. Let me get that,"

He let go of the guy, and ran back to the entrance. Opening the door, he discovered that his dad was inside; counting the coins the Fire Nation soldiers gave him for their meal.

Haru gulped, "Uhh, Dad?"

Tyro looked up. He smiled at seeing his son, "Yes, Haru? What is it?"

The boy chuckled nervously, "Heh Heh… Umm, can some of my friends come over?"

Tyro chuckled, "Sure, why not?"

Haru smiled, "Thanks, Dad," Haru then walked to the window and unlocked it, confusing his father.

"Uh, Haru? What are you doing?"

Haru grunted as the window lock finally unlatched, "Letting them in," He opened the window and signaled them with his finger and mouthed 'Come in'. After they held the guy up, Haru took him and positioned him so that he could bring him in through the window safely. Suddenly the Guard's uniform got stuck in the window, so Naruto and the others tried to force him in. The suit ended up cutting through Haru's headband, "OW!" The green band fell to Haru's feet, and Haru's bangs fell in front of his face.

Tyro started to walk out from behind the counter, "Haru? What are you—" When he saw the Fire Nation guard, his grey eyes widened, "Haru, have you lost your sanity?!"

"No, but I think I've lost my headband,"

Tenten spotted him through the window and laughed, "He has the same hair as you, Neji,"

"Tch,"

Tenten giggled.

When they finally got the guard through with one final push, him landing on both Haru and his father; the three ninjas hopped inside. Naruto looked down at the two citizens, "Uhh, Ha, Sorry about that,"

Tyro gently pushed the body off of his green robe and got up. Dusting off his clothes, he asked, "Haru, who are these people?"

The boy got up and turned to him, "Oh, Dad; these are my friends. This sounds crazy, but they've never heard of Earthbending before…"

Tyro shushed him, but still looked at him in disbelief, "Shhh…Really now?"

Neji nodded, "Sir, we have absolutely no idea how this happened, but we are not from this world,"

Tyro and Haru looked shocked, "I'll be darned. Are you sure about this?"

Tenten shook her head, "I've never been more sure,"

Haru and his dad nodded. Tyro whispered, "Well, Haru, I really don't mind where they've come from; you can introduce them to me still,"

Haru smiled, "Dad, this is…"

The three introduced themselves, "My name is Naruto Uzimake! Nice to meet ya—Wait! You're the old man from the noodle shop!"

Tyro nodded, "Haha, I remember you now, boy. Nice to meet you, Naruto,"

Naruto cheekily laughed, and Tenten walked up to Tyro, "My name is Tenten. Nice to meet you in such an awkward situation, sir," She smiled her good-girl smile, making Neji smirk while shaking his head.

Neji walked up, "Neji Hyuuga, Sir,"

Tyro nodded at all three of them, and then turned toward Haru, "I like them. And this guy looks like you,"

Haru and Neji looked at each other, and Naruto and Tenten laughed.

Naruto then remembered what he saw in the restaurant: _Naruto pouted, "Oh," Then the old man started walking away, and Naruto could see a vertical scar, about a foot long, on the back of his right leg. _Naruto whispered, "Hey, old man… What's that on your leg?"

Haru stiffened, and then he walked towards the door, "I'm going to go outside for a moment. Dad, can you…?"After that, he shut the door and ran off.

**-Avatar POV-**

(Fire Nation Ship)

Zuko and Hinata have been walking around the hull of the ship, trying to figure out where the different rooms were. Finally they found a hallway that looked familiar to Zuko. _Okay, If this was my ship, this would be a… _He opened a door, and found a small bed. …_Bedroom. Good, I know where we are. _He then imagined his Uncle snoozing in the bed, drool astray. His eyes brimmed, but he shook it off.

Zuko turned to the girl, "Okay, first things first, I know those chains are hurting you,"

Hinata nodded, "Hmm,"

The Firebender then came to a door and knocked. Seeing that he didn't get an answer, he twisted the helm-looking lock clockwise, and then pushed it open, "Here's the bathroom. Let me unclasp your chains first, and then you can wash up in here,"

Hinata nodded, and then they walked a bit further. Zuko then stopped at a door on his left. _This is the study. _He twisted the lock, pushed it open, and sure enough, it was the study. Windows illuminated the room, making Hinata feel a little better. _Naruto, I wish you were here to save me…_

Suddenly a guard scurried into the study, and Zuko and Hinata turned around to look at him. Zuko straightened, "What is it?"

"Sir, some of our troops were testing out the Fire Balloon when they saw a flying creature,"

Zuko widened his eyes, "Where?"

"They were by a small forest in the Earth Nation. Little Eden, I believe. They reported that they didn't notice anything until they saw a boy with yellow hair running through the field,"

Hinata's eyes magnified. _UH! Could that be…_

Zuko cocked an eyebrow, "No one has yellow hair here,"

Hinata smiled to herself. _Naruto… Please tell me you're here, too. _

Zuko's rash voice interrupted her thoughts, "Is that all they saw? You said they saw a flying creature,"

The guard nodded, "Yes sir, they said that they didn't notice anything else… until the forest started to smoke,"

This got their attention.

The guard continued, "The troops accounted that the forest was eaten within minutes, and before the whole thing came down, they said that they saw something as big as a Fire Nation ship flying out from the forest and into the sky,"

Zuko's eyes flashed, "The Avatar,"

**-Naruto POV-**

As Sasuke kept running, there was one point where he was in the flying creature's shadow; so he slowed down and watched it gently land in a patch of trees. Following its trail, he perched in some branches by the… it looked like a bison… bison's landing point. He was going to watch closely until he was sure Sakura came out with the group. Breathing heavily from the long trek, he leaned against the large trunk.

**-Narutar POV-**

(Clearing)

Finally, Aang guided Appa down into a small patch of trees by a village. Katara tilted her head, and turned towards Aang, "Aang, wasn't that Haru's village?"

Aang shrugged, "There are so many villages in the Earth Nation. I can't keep track,"

Sokka looked at the trees around them, "But… This place seems so familiar… Oh, Look!" He shimmied off the flying bison and ran over to a little fountain by a rock, the water trickling like it has since the last time they were there, "It's the fountain!"

Aang jumped of Appa and walked over to inspect it, "Hey, waddaya know? It is!"

Rock Lee and Sakura exchanged glances, and shrugged. Momo flew off Appa and into some trees. Katara jumped off Appa to go see if the V-shaped rock formation Haru Earthbended was still there, and Toph stayed in the saddle with Sakura and Lee.

"Don't ask me why they're suddenly so happy to see a fountain,"

Lee yelled, "I thought you said you were psychic!"

Sakura slapped her forehead, "Lee, she was just kidding,"

Lee slumped, "Oh," Then he turned to Sakura, and he blushed, "You know, Sakura—"

All of a sudden, Sasuke appeared in front of the three of them. Sakura gaped, "Sasuke!"

Lee couldn't believe his eyes, "Sasuke?"

Katara turned around; she was just walking back to Appa when she heard Sakura yell, "Sasuke?"

Aang whirled around, "Sasuke?"

Sokka looked up from the fountain, "I'M SO NOT _GAY_! WHO SAID THAT?!"

They all turned to him; even Toph lifted her eyes open to see what she missed. Katara laughed, "What? Haha! No no! We said 'Sasuke', not 'Sokka's gay', Ahaha!" Everyone started laughing, but soon after Haru came up to their settlement and called, "Hey! Katara, is that you?"

Katara gasped, "Haru!" She ran over to him and gave him a hug. Aang and Sokka went over to him, too.

Haru smiled, "Glad to see you guys are okay,"

As they were talking; Sasuke, Sakura, Lee, and Toph were still on Appa's saddle. Sasuke turned back to Sakura, "Who are these people?"

Sakura smiled, "Nice people. They helped Lee and I get out of the forest. It burnt down pretty quick,"

Sasuke nodded, and he looked at the circle of them, "You know their names, don't you?"

Sakura laughed, "Yup. This is Toph, the boy with the ponytail is Sokka, the boy with the arrow on his head is Aang, and the girl with the long hair is Katara. She's nice. I'm glad I didn't fight her when we were in the forest,"

Sasuke nodded again, "Okay, I guess we could stay with them for awhile,"

Lee spoke up, "Sokka said he'll help me find Tenten and Neji. I'm sure they'll help you guys find Naruto," At this Sakura and Sasuke both nodded. Soon after that Aang and the others came over to Appa to introduce Haru to the people they found out in the forest.

Katara spoke, "Okay, Haru. This might sound weird, but these people are from another dimension,"

Somehow, he didn't look phased. He was inspecting their headbands, "Hm, I can tell. The headbands are the same as the others I found today,"

This got Sakura, Sasuke, and Lee's undivided attention. Lee questioned him, "Who were these people?!"

Haru looked up at him, "I met them in my village today. First I saw a boy in my dad's restaurant; he talked to my dad," He chuckled, "He was really loud,"

Sakura and Sasuke knew who that was right away. Sakura cheered, "Naruto!"

Haru smiled, "Yup! The others dragged him out of the restaurant. Tenten and Neji were their names,"

Lee's eyes sparkled, "They're here?! _Alright!!!_" Lee then jumped down in front of Haru, "Where are they now?! Can you bring me to them?!"

Haru leaned back, "H-hey!" He chortled, "Don't worry; they're with my dad right now. All three of them,"

**-Avatar POV-**

(Seized Fire Nation Ship)

"Where should we go, Princess Azula?"

"Make port at Sunset Village. It's time those Earthbenders learn how worthless they are,"

"Of course, Princess,"

**-Narutar POV-**

(Tyro's Store)

"Oh, this scar?"

Naruto nodded.

Tyro continued, "Hm. Well, it all started when the Fire Nation took over Sunset Village,"

Neji interfered, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but when you say 'Fire Nation', what are you referring to?"

Haru's father looked at him, "There are three Nations in this world: The Water Nation, The Earth Nation, and The Fire Nation. There used to be an Air Nation, but only one more Airbender remains; and he is the Avatar,"

Tenten tilted her head, "Avatar?"

Tyro smiled, "Oh, I'm sorry for being so ignorant today. I keep forgetting that Haru told me you guys are from a different world. It doesn't happen everyday that you get guests like that," At this, all three of the genins nodded. Tyro resumed, "I'll start with this: The Avatar is a well-rounded person…"

**-Narutar POV-**

(Sunset Village)

Haru lead them into yet another alley, and Sokka spoke up this time in a whisper, "Haru! What are we doing? Doesn't this look suspicious enough that eight kids and a flying lemur are running in dark places?!"

Haru turned around, "Shh! They can't question what they don't see,"

Sokka got confused for a second, but he sighed and followed the group down another alleyway. They stopped next to a cracked-open window. Haru waved his hand, "In here,"

One-by-one: Aang, Toph, Katara, Sakura, Lee, Sasuke, Momo, and Sokka crossed an intersection where you could see into the alley; avoiding eye contact with the Fire Nation guards patrolling the area. After they crossed to their left was the window Haru was standing beside. He motioned for them to be quiet, and he peeked inside, "Dad!"

(Tyro's shop)

Naruto sighed, "All this Avatar stuff is giving me a headache!"

Tenten sighed, "You're giving _me_ a headache,"

Just then there was a knocked at the window, and they all got on their guard; afraid if it were a Fire Nation soldier. It was only Haru calling his dad, "Dad! Over here,"

Tyro walked to open it. When he did, eight people and a lemur carrying tiny nuts poured in. Tyro and the three ninjas stepped away quickly to not get crushed by the mass pile. When everyone came in, Lee ran to Neji and Tenten, "GUYS!"

Tenten gasped, "Lee!"

Naruto spotted Sasuke and Sakura spewed on the floor, and he ran over to them, "Sakura! Sasuke! I've been looking everywhere for—"

**BOOM.**

**To Be Continued…**

**OOOO,** **Whoops… Haha, Sowwy!!! (Oh, **Demonic-Dragon-Eyed-Chick **gave me this next idea)**

**Next time on Narutar: The Lost Saga… (How is it, should I keep it?) (Naruto) "W-What's going on?! Why is everyone panicking?! H-Hey, can someone help me out here?! Whoa! Hey, are we fighting, now? We're fighting, aren't we?! Let's do this!!!" **

**Well, to give you a brief idea… There's A LOTTA butt-whoopin' in this next chapter—You do not wanna miss it! I didn't like this chapter all that much, but, hey, I hope next chapter will make up for it! (Wink)**

**And this is last call for Pairings! I already have some planned out, but I can aim for two more! 2 MORE! VOTE VOTE VOTE!**

**Like I've said before, Reviews are appreciated! Oh, and I'll throw something extra if you review… A TIDBIT of the next chapter! OH YEAH!**

**Just make sure it can get to your e-mail somehow! (Wink wink)**

**Peace!**


	5. SagaStory 5: Sunset's Fall

**A little late, but here it is! (Ha, a _little_?) Anyways, Do not own Naruto or Avatar.**

_To unwind…_

_Previously, on Narutar…_

_Zuko looked down, and he set the girl down gently on a wall, "We need to get you cleaned up,"_

_The girl only nodded, making the chain around her neck chink, "Thank you,"_

_Zuko raised his brows, "It's nothing. My sister captures anyone when she's bored…" He looked to see if anyone else was in the hallway, watching him talk to a "peasant", "What's your name?"_

_The girl looked up, and he looked surprised when he saw that she had pale, white eyes. She spoke in her weak voice, "Hinata,"_

_-_

_Sir, some of our troops were testing out the Fire Balloon when they saw a flying creature,"_

_Zuko widened his eyes, "Where?"_

"_They were by a small forest in the Earth Nation. Little Eden, I believe. They reported that they didn't notice anything until they saw a boy with yellow hair running through the field,"_

_Hinata's eyes magnified. __UH! Could that be…_

_Zuko cocked an eyebrow, "No one has yellow hair here,"_

_Hinata smiled to herself. __Naruto… Please tell me you're here, too. _

_-_

_Where should we go, Princess Azula?"_

"_Make port at Sunset Village. It's time those Earthbenders learn how worthless they are,"_

"_Of course, Princess,"_

_-_

_Naruto spotted Sasuke and Sakura spewed on the floor, and he ran over to them, "Sakura! Sasuke! I've been looking everywhere for—"_

_**BOOM.**_

**- Narutar POV-**

(Seized Fire Nation Ship)

Zuko stuck his key into Hinata's chains. Twisting the lock, they clinked opened with a hiss. Hinata rubbed her wrists in pain; they were red from their tightness. Zuko felt sorry for her; she was just an innocent bystander of Azula's invasion after all. He needed to talk with his sister about her 'instantaneous imprisonment' methods, "Hinata, get washed up now. I'll be right back,"

"Hm," With that, Hinata got up out of her chair, walked out of the study, down the hall, and into the bathroom. Went she came to the lock, she stopped, _Okay, so he turned it _this_ way… _She cranked it clockwise, and the helm-like lock smoothly spun around. Hinata feebly opened the door, and her wrists stung, "Ah…" When going inside; she found a sink on her right; by that was the toilet bowl.

She turned in front of her, and in the middle of the bathroom was a circular, bowl-like bath. She gleamed; that looked ultimately refreshing.

After she turned a knob and let the water cascade into the tub, she went to the sink to look at her face. Over the subtle sound of bath water in the background, she huffed at what she saw. Rubbing the blood stains off of her mouth and cheeks, she closed her eyes; thoughts drifting back to what the rest of her team was doing. _Shino… Kiba… _

**BOOM.**

Suddenly the boat rocked, and Hinata grabbed the edge of the sink. Water gushed out of the already overflowing tub, and Hinata ran to turn the water off. Reaching the knob, she cranked it so tight that her right hand swelled, "Ow,"

At that moment she heard someone barking orders to people, "Okay, we docked, now let's go! Move! Move! Move!" The trampling of heavy boots frightened her and she backed away from the door.

She panicked, "What's going on?"

Suddenly the door swung open, and Hinata gasped. Zuko was at the door, and he held out his hand, yelling above all the commotion, "Come on! I'm going to get you out of here!"

"What's going on, Zuko?!" Hinata ran over to him and he grabbed her left hand. They ran down the hall and up the stairs to get onto the deck.

Zuko led Hinata; weaving through the numerous soldiers in red going the other direction, scaring her to no end, "Azula's made port again!" Hinata's eyes magnified; that's how she got there in the first place. The soldiers were heading out of the ship, and Zuko grasped the little girl's hand tight, making sure she was with him still, "Hold on! We're almost out!"

Hinata bit her lip. _What in the world is going on?!_

(Tyro's Shop)

Naruto's hairs jumped on end, "What the--?! What the heck was that?!"

Sokka ran over to the window in the front to go see what the commotion was. What he saw made his eyes enlarge, "Oh my…" He slammed the window shut and latched it tight, alarming the rest of them. Sokka turned to them, "It's the Fire Nation. They've made port,"

Suddenly screams of startled citizens reached the shop, and everyone's ears perked up. Toph put her hand to the ground, "Guys, we've got a problem,"

Naruto raised his eyebrows, "What?!"

Katara swerved her head, "What is it, Toph?"

The blind Earthbender lifted her hand off the ground, eyes magnified, "Judging from the number of vibrations I felt, there's about a thousand soldiers in the vicinity,"

Sokka sounded worried, "And I still saw ships docking," He plopped on the ground, "Great, what are we going to do?"

Naruto raised his voice, "We fight them! They're the enemy, aren't they?!"

Aang scrunched up his hand, "Of course they are,"

"Then let's go!" They were about to run out of the shop, but Lee stopped them,

"Wait! I'll help," He turned to Sokka, "You helped me find my friends; I will help defend yours."

Sokka frowned and nodded, "Thank you, Lee,"

Neji and Tenten stood up, too. Tenten spoke, "You know I'm in. If Lee says he'll help you; we'll help, too,"

Neji nodded. Sakura and Sasuke nodded, and Naruto brought his hand up to his chest, "You can count on us!"

Haru looked at his dad, "Dad, I'm going, too,"

Tyro frowned, making Haru mad, but he said, "Not without me," Haru smirked and nodded.

At that moment they all heard a faint booming sound, and silence. In a second Aang, Neji, and Lee all screamed, "GET DOWN!" To their left; there was an ear-deafening sound, and then the crackling sound of flames. Aang yelled, "They've already launched the cannons! I'm going!"

Sokka yelled, "Aaaang, wait!"

It was too late, the young Airbender burst open the door and ran outside. Naruto wrestled out of Sakura's hold, and followed Aang out into the streets. Katara rushed out of the shop to douse the fire that was spreading on the building beside Haru's.

Sokka called after her, "Kataraaa! Hold on! –AH!"

Pushing Sokka aside, Toph ran out of the doorway led by Haru, "Hurry up Sokka, you're not scared are you?!" Toph stomped her foot onto the ground, and immediately the soldier coming for her rose high into the air on a rock rising up out of the ground. Toph then retracted the rock in a flash and Haru bended a boulder to smash the guy midair into a nearby building. Lee and the others gaped at what they just saw, while Sokka just sighed, "Ah, what the heck," Unsheathing his boomerang and club, Sokka ran out of the house with a battle cry, "AHHHH!!!"

Lee turned to his team, "Well, are we going?"

Tenten and Neji nodded, and they disappeared from the shop. Sasuke turned to Sakura, and they followed suit.

**-Naruto POV-**

(Earth Nation- Waterfalls)

"Well, what do we do?"

"Kiba, what we need to do now is go and get Hinata back. I have a feeling she hasn't been killed…yet," Shino stood up and gazed up at the broken waterfall, destroyed by the recent raid on the nearby town. It was annihilated by the same ship that Hinata got captured and led on, "Hinata, you better be alive still,"

Kiba stood up too, "Yeah… UGH!" Shino jumped at Kiba's sudden outburst, watching him scrunch up his hands, "Why the heck did Kurenai sensei send us here?!"

"I don't know why, but for some reason, when we were training with her, all of a sudden it looked like something came over her," Shino adjusted his glasses. Then, when Kiba turned to look at the clouds, he took them off to wipe the waterfall-mist off. He put them back on just in time before Kiba turned back to look at him, "What?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing," Kiba blinked, and then Shino continued, "Do you think we're the only one's here?"

Akamaru poked his head out of Kiba's sweater and barked.

Kiba looked down to meet his eyes, "You think so?" Akamaru nodded, and Kiba nodded, "Shino, I don't think we're alone. Someone smells like Konoha not too far from here," Akamaru barked in agreement, and Shino perked up his ears,

"Hey, did you hear something?"

"Hear what?"

**-Avatar POV-**

(Sunset Village- Status: Raided)

Azula stared at the numerous Fire Nation soldiers, scattering like red fire-ants throughout the village. The sight enchanted her: the townspeople running to-and-fro, the flames devouring the buildings, and the Avatar—Wait. _Well well well; look what we have here… _Azula sneered, "Oh, look, guys. A bonus prize," With evil grace, the Fire Nation Princess bounded off her royal chair, off the ship, and onto the ground.

Ty Lee, fixing her braid, perked up, "What does she mean?"

Mai's flat tone echoed, "She means the Avatar's here," With that being said, Mai ran to catch up with Azula.

Ty Lee gasped, "Really?! So that hot guy must be here, too!" She then flipped to the edge of the ship, and dove down to the ground, landing by the both of them.

Azula smirked, "Get them," Then they all sped off.

**-Naruto POV-**

(Sunset Village- Distant Hill)

Gaara watched a fleet of ships docking into Sunset village. Turning to his right, he saw a fireball collide into a building by the alleyway he was in. Standing under a shady tree, he then saw a bunch of red-armored soldiers running out into the town, scaring the many village occupants. _What is going on? … _All of a sudden he saw a boy, with an arrow on his head, running out of a house. He tilted his head slightly; intrigued by the tattoos adorning his body… And that's when he saw Naruto trailing after him.

His eyes enlarged; he wasn't expecting that. _Why is _he_ here?_ Then he saw two more figures come running out of the same building; a guy with hair like Neji, and a small girl in green robes. Inspecting them from the hill, something caught his attention. They both controlled the Earth… _Is that what the guy I killed meant when he said _Earthbending Watching them closer, he saw the girl suddenly whip up a sandstorm. His eyes widened, and he disappeared from the hill.

**-Narutar POV-**

(Sunset Village- Streets)

"Aang! Behind you!"

"Right!" The Airbender thrust his glider around behind him, shooting a crescent-like gust of wind at his pursuers. Three guards flew back and crashed into a market stand.

"AHH! MY CABBAGES!!!"

Aang flinched, and Naruto yelled back at the man, "YOUR VILLAGE IS GETTING RAIDED AND YET ALL YOU THINK ABOUT IS YOUR—"

"—Watch out, Naruto!" Aang grabbed his collar and drew him back from a fire blast. Naruto shrieked. Aang then propelled a stream of wind from his palm, knocking another soldier off his feet. Naruto turned to the Air monk,

"Thanks!"

"No problem! …Behind you!"

-

Neji and Tenten were fighting alongside each other, with Lee close by. Lee was in a fighting stance with his opponent, "Ready to fight a handsome devil like me?!"

The soldier just snorted and unsheathed his sword. Then, running towards the ninja, he pointed his sword-tip at him. Rock Lee smirked, "Too slow! Leaf Whirlwind!" Lee spiraled into the air, knocked the sword out of the soldiers hands, and side-kicked his helmet clean off. Lee jumped back to the ground; eyes lit up in flames, "Now, who's next?!"

Tenten was using Taijutsu with one soldier, while Neji was getting cornered by four of them. Neji closed his eyes. When all four advanced on him at once, he spun around in a swift loop and yelled, "Rotation!" All four of the soldiers shot in different directions, one hitting a girl with a braid.

"Ouch! That was rude!" Ty Lee pushed the unconscious soldier off of her and glared at Neji, "Hey! You with the ponytail!" She then started running towards him.

Tenten gasped, "Neji, look out!"

The Hyuuga already saw it coming, and he readied his jutsu, "Rotation!"

The girl yelled and flipped back just in time to avoid the chakra. He looked back at her, "You don't look like the others,"

Ty Lee cocked an eyebrow, "Of course not. I would never dress up in a suit _that_ ugly!" This made Neji sweat-drop. But what she said next got his attention, "Plus, I'm not weak like them,"

Neji smirked and tried to study her chakra patterns, but he couldn't see anything. He shrugged it off, "Good. I can finally fight properly,"

Tenten shook her head, "It's always proper with that guy—"Suddenly a kunai skimmed her cheek, and she gaped, "What the—" At that moment a girl was about to kick her from behind, but she dodged it just in time, "Shoot,"

She back-flipped while her opponent turned around and they stared eye-to-eye. Tenten frowned, "Who are you?"

Ty Lee looked over to who Tenten was talking to and chirped, "Oh, Mai!"

-

"Sakura, You alright?!"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me!" Sakura then whirled around and punched a soldier in the gut behind her, "Take this!"

Katara bended water out of her pouch and froze a guard that was about to burn the kunoichi with a flamed-hand. Sakura gasped and turned to look at a helmet frozen in ice, "Ah!"

-

"AHHH!!!" Sokka ran over to another guy, club swinging in the air, when someone got to him first, "HEY! He was mine!"

Sasuke just looked back at him, "Be quick next time,"

Sokka sweatdropped. _"Better be quicker next time!" Déjà vu much, Sokka?! _He shrugged it off, "Whatever," He brushed off his old self; he'd grown a lot after that encounter with Jet the Jungle-Boy. _Okay, Sokka. Now it's all brain over brawn. _A soldier came after him, and he stood still. He had an idea.

Sasuke looked behind him and saw a soldier coming after the Water Tribe boy, "What the—is he crazy?" After pummeling his opponent into a wall, he quickly dashed to the guy coming in Sokka's direction. Right before the guard swung his sword to Sokka's head, Sasuke slashed him with a kunai. He turned to Sokka, "What did I tell you?!"

Sokka just smiled, "Thanks, buddy!"

Sasuke flinched, "You were just using me, weren't you?!"

Sokka shrugged, "Well, I had to get rid of him somehow!"

Suddenly someone snatched Sokka and disappeared, making Sasuke alarmed, "What the—" He looked around, but he didn't see any sign of his partner, _I better go find that kid._

-

"Haru, Behind you!"

"Thanks!" Haru stomped his foot and swung his arms in a semi-circle, causing the soil behind him to shift drastically. The men were caught off guard and they moved with the soil; crashing into a brick wall. Toph then held out her hands in front of her and threw them down; causing the wall to collapse on the group, "Good one!"

"Yup," Toph was about to bend another boulder when she felt a strange aura surrounding her, "What…" She quickly got rid of two guards and stood still, "What is this?"

Haru turned to Toph, "Toph? Are you alright—AH!" Haru stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the guy that was standing behind Toph. He thought back to the incident in the alleyway: the unconscious guard, the sand, and the redhead. He ran towards Toph, but the guy seemed to bend a wall of sand that rose to the sky; barricading him and Toph in a sand cylinder. Haru's eyes magnified, "DAD!!!"

Tyro was fighting against some fire nation guards when he heard his son calling. He grunted, "Hold on, Haru!" And he swiftly turned counter-clockwise and stomped his heel into the ground. All five guards around him got their legs caught in a rock-trap, and they all fell forward trying to get out.

Tyro ran towards Haru shouting over the sound of a battleground, "Son, what's the matter?!"

Haru turned to him, "Dad! Help me! Toph is stuck in that sand thing and I can't bend it!"

Haru's dad looked surprised, "What?!"

-

"Zuko, where are we going?!" Hinata and Zuko were now out of the ship, climbing down a ladder… Well, Zuko was climbing down whilst carrying Hinata. At the bottom of the ladder was a dingy set up for them.

Zuko grunted, "I'm getting you away from this ship!" They were yelling to each other even though they were so close because of all the commotion, "You weren't supposed to be part of this!"

Hinata nodded, a bit frightened. Then, over the sound of the crashing waves, she heard a voice that she knew all too well, "YOUR VILLAGE IS GETTING RAIDED AND YET ALL YOU THINK ABOUT IS—"

"Okay, we're almost down!"

"N-Naruto!"

Zuko stopped on a rung, yelling over the tide, "What?!"

Hinata turned towards the village and smiled, she saw a few people in headbands just like hers: Naruto and Sasuke a little ways off, Tenten, Lee, Neji. Her eyes magnified when she saw her brother, "Neji…"

Zuko turned to what she was talking about, but all he saw was Ty Lee and Mai. He then looked at the people they were fighting: the bands on their heads looked similar to Hinata's. Zuko turned to the girl in his arms, "Are those your friends?"

Hinata looked at the Konoha ninjas longingly, "Yes…"

Zuko kept hanging on that rung, thinking… then he said, "Okay, I'll take you to your friends, but we have to wait until the raid is over,"

Hinata grabbed his uniform tighter than before and whispered, "Okay. Thank you,"

Zuko then proceeded down the ladder.

-

"Shadow-clone Jutsu!" In an instant, replicas of Naruto were made, scaring the soldiers half to death.

"What the—How is he doing that?!"

"That boy isn't human!"

"He's a monster!"

Naruto had his head down, "You're right… I guess I am a monster…"

Aang turned to the real Naruto, not hearing him speak, "…That's awesome, Naruto!!!"

Naruto lifted his head and turned to Aang, "You don't think… that this is scary?"

Aang cocked an eyebrow, "Why would I think it's scary?"

In the background the soldiers started freaking out, "Retreat, retreat!"

"This is witchcraft!"

"Get away from that boy!"

Aang huffed after the soldiers retreated, "Hmph… Well, at least you got rid of them!" Naruto stared at him dumbfounded, and then smiled like he hadn't in a long time.

-

"Who… the _heck_… are _you_?"

After receiving no answer, Toph shot her arms out to her sides and tried to force the sand away. She blinked in horror, "What…"

Gaara just stared at her, looking at her clothes, her headband, and her eyes… Her eyes were a glazed-mint color with an underlay of leaf-green blended together; dual-colored. He was wondering why this girl wasn't freaking out by now. He decided to question her, "Who are you?"

"I asked first, kid!" Toph was still staring down at the ground, but Gaara thought it was out of horror looking at him, "LET ME OUT!"

Gaara blinked: this has never happened before. He decided to get to the point, "You control Earth?"

Toph growled, annoyed that someone would trap her like this, "I'm the _best _Earthbender in the world, and don't you forget it!" She then got in her horse stance, fueled with anger, and punched the air over her head. One huge rock from under her feet shot up from the ground and rose her up high into the air, Gaara's aquatic eyes glaring up at her, _You can't run away from me. _Commanding his sand, he was about to grab the little girl and yank her back to the ground, but he stopped when he realized something. With his same stoic face, but with a weird feeling inside of him, he swirled away in his sand-cylinder, erasing it from the battlefield.

_She wasn't scared of me._

-

"Hey, you're fighting me!"

Arms crossed as two pinpoint fighters faced off. Neji was just about to jab Ty Lee in the gut when she blocked it just in time and went for his neck. The Hyuuga was too quick, and he tumbled to the ground and rolled for a ground sweep. Ty Lee jumped up just in time for his leg to swing under her, but she didn't have time to avoid Neji's other leg as he shifted his weight to his left arm and kicked her in the stomach with his right leg. Ty Lee yelped as she flew back, holding her sides as she smacked the ground. Neji stood up and dusted himself, frowning. He looked over his shoulder at her,

"You're holding back,"

Ty Lee gritted her teeth.

-

The clinks and clangs of weapons could be heard as Tenten and Mai battled. Mai threw yet another flying dagger and pulled up her sleeve, revealing stringed knives on a cast. As Tenten awaited the first dagger, Mai strung the filament that attached the knives, releasing them off her arm. Tenten knocked the flying dagger out of the way, only to face the rocketing metal weapons coming towards her.

She smirked, "Too easy!" Balancing chakra into her fingers, she swiftly moved aside for the daggers to fly past her. As they flew in front of her turned body, she rapidly touched all five of the daggers and spun around. To Mai's surprise, her daggers were flying back towards her!

"What the—!" She moved quickly, but two of the daggers skimmed her clothing, ripping some material off. She glared at Tenten, "What just happened?!"

Tenten held up her hand to her face, "I used chakra to gain control of the daggers. When I turned around, I still had them attached to my fingers. I gathered energy into them when I spun around; releasing them at the last moment," She reached back into her pouch and took out a shuriken, "Now, wanna see a Yo-Yo trick?"

Mai cocked an eyebrow.

-

"Whoa!" Aang and Naruto yelped in unison as they jumped off a building just in time to dodge a fireball. They landed in a hidden alleyway: Aang floated softly on the ground while Naruto fell flat on his face. Aang sighed, "That was too close,"

Naruto agreed, muffled from the dirt, "I'll say," Aang held him up and looked around them,

"We need to get back to our teammates,"

Naruto dusted off himself, "Right," Running a few ways, they ran into someone, "Ah! Hey, Sasuke! You okay?"

Sasuke nodded, "I'm fine," He turned to Aang, "But your friend isn't,"

Aang's eyes widened, "What? What happened? Who?"

Sasuke swerved around and looked behind him, "I don't know. When we were fighting, Sokka just disappeared," He then took out his kunai, "Get ready; someone's—"

"Hm, spotted me already? Veeery clever,"

Aang's senses went berserk at the sound of that voice, and he turned around, "_You_,"

There she was, on top of the roof in all her fiendish glory. Azula sneered, "It's_ Princess_ to you, peasant,"

"It's _Avatar_ to you, lady,"

The Fire Nation princess cocked an eyebrow, "Finally growing some backbone, lover-boy?" She then descended from the rooftop to the ground and landed with an intimidating thump, "That's tough talk to someone who has your friend's life in her hands,"

Aang furrowed his brows, "…Where's _SOKKA_?"

Azula lifted her hand to her face, seemingly more interested in her nails then in the subject, "Mmm, I don't feel like telling you that,"

Naruto boiled, "LISTEN, LADY—"

Sasuke held him back, though as annoyed at the woman as Naruto was. He murmured, "Naruto…Wait," Uzimake was still huffing at the Princess, but kept his anger in check. The Fox's chakra was starting to brim; he didn't like the feeling he was getting. _She's pure evil._

Aang yelled, "Give…Sokka…back!"

Azula was still observing her nails, and she started to nibble on one of them. "Hnnn, I don rrrlly wan choo," she sneered while biting on it. Azula stopped biting her fingernail and looked at an invisible watch on her arm, "Oh, look! Time to go!" Smirking like a goblin, she vanished from the alleyway.

The Airbender bellowed, "GET _BACK_ HERE!" Using a bended air current, he burst out of the alley and chased Azula down like a ravaged lion, "You're _not_ getting away!!!" Sasuke and Naruto trailed close behind him; they were as ticked off as Aang was.

-

Ty Lee back-flipped onto a ledge and did a Matrix back-bend to avoid Neji's revolving shuriken. The Hyuuga then chased after her as she ran along the shelf. Suddenly he disappeared from the ground and appeared right in front of Ty Lee. She gasped and leapt off the wall, soared through the air, and landed on a roof. Neji hissed, and flung another kunai. This time, he pitched it so fast it skimmed her sleeve and pinned her to one of the pagoda's dragon statues. She smacked it with a yelp, "Ouch!"

Neji then ran up to her and was about to strike her with his palm when he saw a flying dagger to his left. He ducked just in time for it to fly past him. Down below the roof he heard Tenten yelling above the pandemonium, "Hey, you're fighting me, Mai!" He peered down and saw Tenten; she had a line of chakra coming from her bruised hand.

Mai was panting, "My friend was in trouble,"

_Apparently both of them are evenly matched at this point_, Neji thought. He smirked, _But… Tenten hasn't shown her true power yet. If she does…_He looked and saw Mai turn back to Tenten. _That woman is finished._

-

Spiraling through masses of soldiers, a labyrinth of passageways, and a burning courtyard, Aang and the others ran into a dead-end.

Sasuke frowned, "Typical,"

Naruto nodded while Aang swerved around to scan the area, breathing heavily. He then punched the wall, "NO!" He started to hit it constantly, " No, no, no, no, no, NO! ARGH!"

Sakura and Katara heard Aang over the turmoil, and they came running over. Katara kept her water-whip by her side, slashing at any on-comers. Sakura slit through the soldiers armor clean to their ribcages as she passed them, causing them to double-back out of her way, "Sasuke! What happened?!"

All three of them turned around to face the two girls, but before any of them could answer, a row of guards blocked off the dead-end. The guards got in their stances, and fired… into a rock wall.

Katara looked around, "Toph! Haru!" The two Earthbenders came running over, breathing hard. Toph pulled the wall down when she retracted her wrist to her side, crashing it down onto the guard-line.

Toph said exasperatedly, "There's too many of them!"

Haru huffed, "Yeah, they won't stop pouring out of the ships!"

Aang yelled above the chaos, "We have to get out of here! Azula has Sokka!"

Toph and Katara wheeled around, "What?!" Aang told them about his encounter with her in the alleyway, and how she hinted that she had Sokka in custody. He also told them that they are currently trying to catch her,

"Obviously she's distracting us from something. I think we should get out of here and find out," The group started to run.

Haru yelled after them, "Aang! I can't just leave my people behind!"

Aang turned around, "Guys, run to Appa! I'll catch up!"

Katara looked back, "Aang!—" He already left. Naruto remembered something soon after,

"Wait, Lee and his team are still down there! I'll go get them!" He disappeared, but the rest of the group went ahead.

-

"Grab my hand," Hinata grasped the Prince's hand and looked at their surroundings: a small beach under the rocks that were by the dock. The raided town was above the drenched boulders. Zuko had rowed the dinghy to the small cove, and now they were climbing the rocks up to a small, grassy hill that overlooks the town.

Hinata peered over the town, but all she saw were clumps of red-metal and burning houses. There was no sign of her friends anywhere, and she whimpered. Zuko looked at her, and he followed her vision to the town. What he saw made him feel severely guilty, _Did I ever do that? _Hinata's voice broke his thoughts,

"Are you sure you won't get caught freeing me like this?" Zuko frowned.

"Like it matters. My sister probably already knows about this,"

Hinata bit her lip.

-

"Neji! Tenten! Lee! Where are you?!" Naruto skidded to a stop and scanned the area, and he saw a glimpse of Konoha green, "LEE!"

Rock Lee just kicked another guy in the crook of his neck when he heard Naruto's shrill voice, "What is it, Naruto?!"

Naruto hollered, "We have to get outta here! This town's done for!"

Neji saw Naruto in his Byakugan's range, and he hit one of Ty Lee's pressure points. Her eyes magnified right before she passed out, and Neji reported to Naruto, "What's going on?" Tenten crossed her arms behind her back, clutching loads of shuriken. She then launched her arms forward, hurling the ninja tools at god-speed.

Mai didn't have time to recognize what was going on until she was pinned in sixteen places to the stucco wall behind her. She yelled, "It's not over!" but her opponent was already gone.

Tenten appeared by the ninjas, "Let's get out of here. It's overwhelming,"

Naruto nodded in agreement, "That's what I came to tell you guys. Let's go!" In dash lines, they all vanished right before getting skewered by swords. The guards stood shocked for a few moments, and then three of them scratched their heads.

**-Avatar POV-**

The Princess jumped back onto her ship, and was met by one of her servants, "Princess, the prisoners are below deck,"

"In the wooden cages, I suppose?"

"Of course, madam,"

"Good, good. Ty Lee! Mai!" Getting Silence's answer, she looked around, "Where are they?"

"They haven't reported back, Your Highness,"

"Hmm, why is that?" Azula went to the forefront of the ship, and she spotted them pinned to different walls, Ty Lee unconscious. She shook her head in disapproval, "Disappointing… Ho-Tai, can you bring them back, please? I'm too tired, and Zuko's busy at the moment,"

Ho-Tai nodded, "Yes, mam. I'm pretty sure Zuko is here, though,"

Azula shook her head, "No, not right now. He's too busy with one of my prisoners. He is greedy after all,"

Her servant nodded, and jumped off the ship to retrieve Azula's two followers. Azula turned to the Captain of the ship, "Is the bomb ready yet?"

He nodded, "It is to detonate in…" He looked at the Sunset, "Three minutes, Princess,"

Azula frowned, "Hm, I couldn't distract them long enough. Oh, well... At least I got what I came for," She started to walk down into the hull, "Cast off, Captain, we're leaving. Tell everyone to pull back, unless they want to be blown to smithereens,"

"Yes, Princess Azula," The Captain grabbed his walkie-talkie, and Ho-Tai came back with Mai and Ty Lee.

**-Narutar POV-**

"Zuko, what's that bleeping noise?"

"Huh? What bleeping—" He heard it, and it sent nostalgic chills down his spine. Instinct led his actions, and he yanked Hinata's arm, "RUN!" He pulled her down the hill, and they raced into the forest.

"Zuko! (huff huff) Where are we—Ah!" The Prince stopped to pick her up, and he continued to run for his life,

"Azula's going to blow up the town!"

Hinata's eyes magnified.

-

Aang and Haru were still fighting off the guards, when Aang felt a tug at his gut. He turned to Haru, "Haru. Let's go!"

Haru turned to him, "What? NO! I can't!"

Aang shook his head furiously, "Haru, I said let's GO! Something _bad_ is about to happen, I know it!"

Haru gritted his teeth, "I'm staying here with my father! You go!"

"But—"

"GO!"

Aang paused, then he unlocked his glider with a click and swooped up. He had a bad feeling.

He got to the rest of the group, who was already there with Appa fully fastened: Naruto, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Sasuke, Sakura, Katara, Toph and Momo were in the bison-saddle when Aang landed in the clearing. The Airbender looked troubled as he swiftly fastened his glider and anxiously pounced into the crook of Appa's neck, "Y-YIP YIP!" Appa roared, lifted his ivory tail, and skyrocketed. Neji, Tenten, and Sasuke got caught off guard for a moment, and they all gripped the sides.

**-Avatar POV-**

Azula sang to herself down in the study, watching the sunset, "In three…two…one,"

**-Narutar POV-**

Soaring above the town, everyone on Appa's back heard a sound they would never forget: the sound of thundering Death under your feet. Screams of silence filled the saddle as everyone looked at each other, dying just a little. Aang held his head down; Tenten, Sakura, and Katara cupped their mouths; Sasuke and Neji frowned; and Lee and Naruto closed their eyes and bit their lips.

Sunset Village was annihilated.

-

Zuko felt the blast, and he fell forward. He twisted so that he landed on his back instead of Hinata, "Ahh!"

"Ah!"

Smoke shot out in their direction, smothering them with gray ash. Zuko shielded Hinata while she covered her face.

**-Avatar POV-**

Azula smirked as she heard the sound from far-off as the ships drifted off into the sunset, "How lovely…"

**-Naruto POV-**

(Konohagakure)

"Have they merged together?"

"Yes…" A ninja rubbed the back of his head as he looked at the Hokages' carved faces on the mountainside, "Let's just hope this works; a village has already been destroyed,"

"Yes, hopefully, but if it doesn't…" The other ninja turned to face him, "Our world…"

A long pause ensued.

"…**Will cease to exist,"**

**To Be Continued…**

**Uh-OH! Soooo many questions to be answered… and you know I had to include the Cabbage Man in here, didn't you? Heehee!**

**Maybe in the preview you will get if you review will be…**

**Haha, well anyway; Really sorry it took me a very long time to update. School has been my worst enemy these past few days. I was going to update Monday, but Finals were this week.**

**But Finals… Just ended… Yippee! I hope I did okay (Especially on the English one…)!!! **

**NATIONAL TREASURE 2 was very good, I recommend you go see it! Riley is **_**still **_**the man!**

**Next time on Narutar: The Lost Saga (spoken by Narrator): "Where's Sokka?! What's that noise Kiba and Shino heard?! What happened to Sunset Village?! Haru, we all loved you…"**

**Thanks for Reading! **


	6. SagaStory 6: Liberation's Side Effects

Hey! Sorry for the late update (again)… I hope you like this chapter!

_Previously on Narutar…_

_Soaring above the town, everyone on Appa's back heard a sound they would never forget: the sound of thundering Death under your feet. Screams of silence filled the saddle as everyone looked at each other, dying just a little. Aang held his head down; Tenten, Sakura, and Katara cupped their mouths; Sasuke and Neji frowned; and Lee and Naruto closed their eyes and bit their lips._

_Sunset Village was annihilated._

_-_

_Zuko felt the blast, and he fell forward. He twisted so that he landed on his back instead of Hinata, "Ahh!"_

"_Ah!"_

_Smoke shot out in their direction, smothering them with gray ash. Zuko shielded Hinata while she covered her face._

_-_

"_Nothing," Kiba blinked, and then Shino continued, "Do you think we're the only one's here?"_

_Akamaru poked his head out of Kiba's sweater and barked._

_Kiba looked down to meet his eyes, "You think so?" Akamaru nodded, and Kiba nodded, "Shino, I don't think we're alone. Someone smells like Konoha not too far from here," Akamaru barked in agreement, and Shino perked up his ears,_

"_Hey, did you hear something?"_

"_Hear what?"_

**VI.**

**-Avatar POV-**

(Seized ship)

"Where do you want them moved, Princess?"

"I told you already, I want them _re_moved_ before_ we reach Ba Sing Se. When is that, Captain?"

"We should dock there tomorrow,"

Sokka's eyes magnified.

**-Naruto POV-**

(Waterfall)

"Hey, did you hear something?"

"Hear what?"

"Shhh…" Shino pointed into the shadowed area in the trees, "Something's in there,"

Kiba then walked forward, "Well, let's go see what it is!"

He started running ahead when Shino called after him, "Kiba! We don't know what's in there!" _It just sounds like birds…_

Kiba looked over his shoulder, "Exactly! I'm gonna find _out_ what's in there!" Then he dashed into the bushes. _Who knows, it could be Hinata. _

Shino then hopped off the rock he was in and jutted into the shade after Kiba. _That kid better know what he's doing. _

They ran past humongous forest trees so big they blocked out the Sun's rays, making the forest glow an orange-red hue. Above them they heard birds chirping beautiful melodies back and forth, leaves rustling in the breeze, and the sound of the waterfall growing faint behind them. Shino caught up with Kiba, and they raced through the woods trying to figure out what the sound was.

Suddenly Akamaru barked, alarming Kiba and Shino. Kiba opened his jacket, "What is it, Aka—WAHHH!"

"Whoa!"

Metal bars closed in around the both of them and they rocketed into the air; leaves shooting out in different directions. Kiba gritted his teeth when he felt a soft, spherical thing hit his nose. It smelled like a berry.

That was the last thing he noticed until him and Shino were knocked out cold.

**----- THE NEXT DAY. -----**

Kiba heard Shino's raspy voice not too far away from him, "Kiba! You okay?!"

Kiba turned to him behind the crescent-shaped bars, "Yeah, I'm fine!" He saw that Shino was in a similar contraption as him: a small sphere-like contraption hanging by a rope. Kiba then focused his attention on the metal bars and shook them, then he saw the stuff that hit him and picked one up. _Berries?_ Inuzuka saw Akamaru hop out of his jacket and dive for one of the circular things. _These are animal_ _traps. Dang it. _ "Shino! These are animal traps! How do we get out?!"

Shino was studying the bars himself, "Hmmm, these are like no other animal traps I've seen, but they must have some way to deactivate them," He then looked at the top of his trap, "Well, we're hanging by mere rope. We can just use our kunai to—"

"Oh, look what we have here, Smellerbee!"

"Ah, just more village chumps. Reel'em down,"

Kiba and Shino gasped and peered down below them to see three figures. One of them had markings on their face kind of like Kiba's, another was a plump man with a bandana, and the last was a lean figure with a chino-hat. Kiba was about to speak when Shino whispered, "Shhh, not yet,"

Kiba nodded as the traps descended, and Akamaru whined.

**-Avatar POV-**

(Seized Ship)

Resting a hand on his chin, Sokka tapped his cheek with a calloused finger; his mind racing with escape plans. _Okay, calm down, Sokka. You're about to get killed along with all the other prisoners, so think of a plan good enough to fool Azula! … Nope, not gonna happen… Well, I could—No, no, that won't work… Oh! I probably could—No, Oh no that's definitely out of the question… _His brows furrowed as he made the chains chink on the floor as he kept waving his hands everywhere, concerning the other person in the cell with him,

"Hey, don't overwork yourself,"

Sokka froze in mid-airchop and peered over to the person lying down on the other side of the room. He just realized they were in there, "When did you get here?!"

"Three days ago. Yourself?"

That made Sokka feel slightly guilty, but he said flatly, "A couple hours ago,"

"Ah, you're one of the fresh ones, huh?"

"Yeah. Hey, could you help me come up with a plan to bust outta here? Azula's planning to kill all of us in the next twenty-four hours,"

The young man said bluntly, his eyes closed, "I'll pass,"

Sokka's jaw dropped, "What?! Why?!"

The stranger propped his head up on one elbow, facing Sokka, "'Cause, it's too troublesome,"

**-Narutar POV-**

Sakura and Tenten reached out their hands to caress a passing cloud. Appa was hovering above land, and everyone on him was silent. Toph fell asleep (the night before was a rough one; no one slept peacefully after they landed) but the rest of the party was still wide awake; replaying images of the previous fight in their heads.

Katara got up and walked to the front of the saddle, and bent down to talk to Aang, "Hey, you okay?"

Aang shook his head, but didn't say anything. Katara closed her eyes and turned back around to sit.

"Katara, are you alright?" Next to her was Naruto.

Katara brokenheartedly smiled at him, "Yeah,"

Naruto frowned, "I know you're lying,"

Katara sighed; he was right. She looked away, "I just hope Haru is okay,"

"He will be,"

Katara whipped her head around to face him, "What?"

Naruto furrowed his brows, "Haru will be okay. Believe it,"

Katara held her head down, "I want to believe, but,"

"But _what_? Haru's village blew up, so what? Katara, trust me on this. Haru is alive, got it?" This made Katara's eyes wide, and Naruto continued, the rest of the group now listening to him, even Aang, "I don't know why or how, but… For some odd reason, I just know,"

-

Piles of rubbish scattered across the area, making Sunset Village a sheer graveyard. Sticks jutted out from numerous objects, walls were shattered, statues broken, gray cabbages strewn along the pathways, and the surrounding trees coated with fifteen layers of ash.

If you listened closely, though, you could hear a faint sound; someone coughing.

"Wh…What… Am I… What's going on?"

_Katara, trust me on this…_

Haru moved his hand across the ground, and felt something.

_Haru is alive, got it?_

He pushed himself with his elbows, he peeked through the darkness he was in. There was no light, but he felt something drip onto his head, and he shook it off. Haru felt over the ground.

_I don't know why or how… But…_

His eyes squinted, and he grabbed a handful of the dirt.

_For some odd reason…_

He brought it up to his face, and he licked it. _Sand?_

_I just know._

"You're finally awake,"

Haru threw the grainy substance and gasped; his heart leaping out of his chest, "G-G-Gaara!"

(Forest)

After the dust settled, Zuko lifted his head off the ground. The two of them were still on the ground, waiting for any signs of ambush. Hinata had been knocked out when her head slammed into the ground, and Zuko didn't want her to wake up traumatized. It was early morning when Zuko decided to wake her up, "Hey, Hinata?"

When she didn't stir, he got a little worried, "Hinata? H-Hey, let's go find your friends,"

The girl's eyes fluttered open and she squinted them in the sunlight, "Wha—What happened?"

"Come on, let's go,"

"Okay,"

Zuko kept her walking through the forest, Hinata occasionally stumbling from drowsiness. After awhile, Zuko spotted a clearing by a nearby river, "Hey let's go there,"

"Hnn,"

**-Avatar POV-**

(Seized Ship)

"Troublesome?! Are you outta your mind?!"

"No, actually. I'm completely sane," The boy then laid back down, hand on his hands.

Sokka glared at him, "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm a lazy guy. Smooth sailing, looking at the clouds, that's my thing,"

"Well, 'Lazy Guy', if you want to see the clouds again, can't you help me come up with a plan to get outta here?"

"Troublesome,"

Sokka blanked, "Impossible is more like it,"

The stranger smirked, "How about yourself?"

Sokka looked at him, "Wha—M-My name?"

"Sure,"

_This guy's too laid back. I wish I could do that. _"Sokka," The water tribe boy began to play with his chains, thoughts whirling back to the sound he heard as he was going to his cell. It sounded like a bomb.

Suddenly the stranger spoke, startling him, "Shikamaru,"

Sokka lifted his brow, "What?"

"My name," He was propped up on one elbow again, "is Shikamaru Nara,"

Sokka was silent for a moment, intriguing Shikamaru. Then Sokka beamed, "That's a cool name!"

Nara smirked and shook his head, "You are one weird guy, ponytail,"

"Same goes for you, ponytail,"

They both smirked.

Suddenly the cellar door opened and a guard came in, "Let's go,"

Sokka frowned while Shikamaru sat up, "Where are you taking us?"

"Out,"

**-Narutar POV-**

(Sunset Village)

"Gaara?!" Haru knew the ninja was there, but since it was so dark, he couldn't see anything, "Hey! You here?!"

Suddenly a ray of light burst through the darkness, making Haru squint. Then the ray got bigger as the fortress he was in crumbled. Haru was in what seemed like a dense sand sphere; just big enough for one person. As the sand crumbled, Haru slowly took in the surroundings, and saw what has become of his city. His eyes watered as he scanned the barren, gray landscape; the only color coming from the flaming debris. Haru gritted his teeth, _Dad…_

"Haru! …Haru!"

The heard his name being called, and he whipped his head around, "Dad?! DAD?!"

Tyro shoved a pile of debris away with a boulder when Haru ran up to him, "DAD! You're still alive!"

His dad held him in a firm hug, "Yes, son," He let go and put a hand on Haru's shoulder. They looked out and looked at the defeated village, Haru's eyes brimming. Tyro shook his head, "How disrespectful,"

Haru nodded, and hugged his dad again, "I'm just glad you're _alive,_"

"I know, son. Me too… It's a mystery as to how, however. This sand appeared out of nowhere and encased me. No idea where it came from,"

"I do," And with that, Haru scampered away, "I'll be right back, Dad!"

Tyro called after him, "I'm going to check on the shop! Or what's left of it," Tyro trudged away through the debris while Haru rushed to find the Sand shinobi.

**-Naruto POV-**

(Konohagakure)

"Kakashi, what's the hold-up?!"

"Excuse me, Tsunade-sama, I just encountered a black cat and—"

"—Yeah yeah. Reports?"

"Oh, yes," The Copy Ninja fished for a scroll in his pocket and handed it to Tsunade, who swiped it from his hands.

She unraveled it and scanned over its contents, making her furrow her brows, "Just as I thought,"

"Hm?"

The Hokage leaned back into her chair, "She's already making her move,"

"The Fire Nation Princess?"

"None other," She put the scroll down and rubbed her temples, "Your plan better work, Kakashi. That plan was not what I was banking on,"

"Good,"

Tsunade glared at him, but went back to massaging, "It better be worth the risk,"

Kakashi cheekily smiled, "Trust me, this works: the genin sent on the mission will have their teamwork definitely improved. Sasuke is now out of Orochimaru's hands too, for now of course,"

Tsunade sighed, "I sent reinforcements, though. Just in case,"

Kakashi furrowed his brows, "So did I,"

**-Narutar POV-**

(Ba Sing Se's Outer Wall- Sokka/ Shikamaru)

The both of them looked up as the ship reached land, "Whooaa.." Before them was an immense wall of white stone. They couldn't admire it for long, though, because they were led in single file line to board different vehicles.

"Ouch, that hurt,"

"Wow; that's Ba Sing—Hey!"

"Oof!" Both boys huffed as they were forced down a hole, then they looked up and saw that it was a tank hatch. Sokka yelled, "Hey! So you're not going to kill us?!"

"Change of plans, but don't get too giddy, kid," They heard the helm-like lock collapse back on its hinges and screw back into place. Sokka sighed in relief.

"Hey, Shikamaru!"

"Shikamaru!"

"Huh?" Lazy Boy looked in front of him; two of the three other prisoners besides him and Sokka were none other than his teammates, "Oh, there you guys are,"

Sokka cocked an eyebrow, "You know these people?"

"They're just my teammates,"

"Just your teammates?!"

"What do you mean just teammates?!"

"Oh, yeah. Their my _annoying_ teammates,"

"Hey! Be a man and introduce us, you lazy bum!" Sokka looked at who was shrilling in his ear, and he saw a girl with a long blond ponytail and solid blue eyes. To her right was a tubby boy with reddish-brown hair. They both had the same headbands as Shikamaru, but on different places. Sokka waved to them as Shikamaru introduced him, and then they introduced themselves.

"Ino Yamanaka!"

"Chouji. Akamichi,"

Sokka nodded and turned to Shikamaru, "At least they didn't kill us. I wonder why, though. What I also don't get is why we're going to Ba Sing—"

"—Hey! Keep it down back there!" All five of the kids looked to the front of the tank to the two guards. They were both fiddling with the different contraptions inside while having a conversation. Sokka took a seat next to the other prisoner; he was a young boy that kind of reminded him of Aang. They were seated right next to a long-rectangular window that allowed them to see what was going on in the front part of the hull while Shikamaru and his teammates were sitting on the long benches. Sokka peeked into the window and listened intently.

There were two guards, a male and a female. The male guard was complaining while he was adjusting a periscope, "Ugh, this is taking too long!"

The female guard spoke without taking her eyes off the other mechanisms; making sure everything was in working order, "Well, duh. You think it's going to be easy driving a _four-hundred ton_ _drill _across a sea of sand? Plus, it has to be in a precise line to pierce through that stronghold smoothly, so the crew is calculating the exact point right now," She spun a helm, and it made one of the other doohickeys hiss, "It takes time, got it?"

Sokka furrowed his brows, _Four-hundred ton drill? Pierce through the stronghold?_

"Well, whatever. Azula just got here so we're going to start moving once she barks out her orders,"

"Roger _that_," the female guard sneered, she wasn't listening to the other guard because she was listening to another guard from a small porthole on her side of the tank. She turned to her partner, "You're gonna have to wait a little longer; we raid Ba Sing Se at daybreak tomorrow,"

Sokka was breathing hard at this point, and his mind was whirling with questions. He looked out one of the smaller windows on the sides of the tank, and he saw that there were other similar tanks outside. Then he looked to his left into another window, and what he saw made his eyes bulge:

The Drill.

He looked his comrades with owl eyes, alarming them. Shikamaru questioned him, and all he said was,

"We have a problem,"

(Sunset Village)

"Gaara! Gaara!" Haru spotted the redhead on a large hill, and he Earthbended his way up there. When he hopped off his boulder onto the hill he walked up to Gaara, looking at his back, "Why did you do it?"

Gaara turned to Haru over his shoulder, but he didn't say anything. Haru questioned him again, "Why did you save me, Gaara?"

He turned back to looking at the sunset, making Haru mad, "Gaara—"

"You talk too much,"

Haru gaped. Gathering courage, he walked up to stand beside Gaara, "There has to be a reason. You even saved my dad,"

Gaara finally caved, "To tell you the truth… I don't really know," Haru furrowed his brows, but Gaara continued, "My body just moved; the sand moved… My mom moved,"

"Huh?"

(On Appa)

"Aang! Look! Ba Sing Se!"

Seeing the stronghold before him made him feel a bit better, and Aang smiled, "Let's land,"

The flying bison roared and softly touched ground, relieving to most of the people on board.

"Ugh, that was worse than the toad,"

"Ah, now my hair's all messed up!"

"Mine, too,"

"You'll get used to it,"

"Ahhh, I feel all loopy!"

"Now you know how I feel,"

"Hn,"

Neji didn't say anything, but he walked over to Aang as the airbender leaped onto the dirt, "What is this place?" He asked as he lifted his head to peer at the looming wall.

Aang turned to him, "It's Ba Sing se, the Earth Nation's stronghold,"

Neji nodded. _It has the same structure as Konoha… _"How do we get in?"

"Hm, that's a good question,"

He started to inspect it when Katara and Momo came running up to him. She looked horrified, "Aang! I just saw Fire Nation ships in a small port over by those rocks,"

Aang gasped, "What?" He looked at the others, and then sighed, "Alright, first, let's get to safe ground. We'll have to be in full condition before we go after Sokka," All the kids, some reluctantly, hopped right back on the flying bison, and Aang led him over into a hole they spotted in one of the mountains.

**-Naruto POV-**

(Forest)

Shino, Akamaru and Kiba watched as they descended to the ground. When the metal cages reached the three people down below, the said figures studied them through the curved rails.

"Hmmm, they seem okay; they're quiet,"

"Probably after seeing you, Pipsqueak. I was scared to death the first time I saw you,"

The big guy, Pipsqueak, chuckled as he studied the two kids over, "Well, I think they're okay. They're just kids,"

"That doesn't mean we can trust them!" Kiba scowled at that.

"But that one as a cute puppy! That should mean something,"

Smellerbee sighed, then turned to the silent boy, "Longshot, what should we do?"

The boy looked at Smellerbee for only a second, but that was enough for understanding.

The short one nodded back, "Fine, Let'em go, Sasquatch,"

Suddenly Shino and Kiba saw the bars to the cages smoothly slides to the sides like a slinky as Pipsqueak released them. Shino blinked, _It's that simple? Huh, interesting._

Kiba was being his rash self, "Where are you taking us?"

"Oh, look, the dog boy speaks," Smellerbee turned around and Kiba smirked, "Just follow us,"

Inuzuka looked at Shino, who nodded. He nodded back, and soon the five kids walked among the looming oaks.

There wasn't much time for questions, because only after a few minutes they reached their destination. Longshot lifted a hand to his face and executed a bird call to the treetop. Shino raised his eyebrow, that's_ what I probably heard. No wonder I didn't see any birds._

A few ropes with small handles appeared from the canopy, and all three forest kids grabbed a hold of one. Pipsqueak held his hand out to the shinobis, "I'll carry you,"

Shino and Kiba looked at each other, and Kiba whispered, "I guess they don't have tree climbing exercises here,"

Shino adjusted his glasses and looked at the others, "We'll be fine," The three others were confused, but Kiba's voice interrupted their thoughts from above, "Hey! This place isn't half bad!" Akamaru barked.

The four looked up, and Shino shook his head, _So impatient. _Pipsqueak, Longshot, and Smellerbee were speechless as they saw Kiba poking his head out from the leafy branches.

"What the—" Smellerbee and Longshot furrowed their brows, and Pipsqueak chortled,

"Hey! How'd you get up there so fast?!"

Kiba laughed and darted back into the treetop with a "Yahoo!" and Shino turned to them, "Like I said; we're fine," With that, he put his foot up against the tree. The forest kids tilted their heads in confusion, but when Aburame started to walk up the tree, their jaws dropped.

They watched him until he disappeared into the leaves, then they look at each other. In an instant they were calling up to Shino, "Hey wait up!" and shooting into the trees on the ropes.

Smellerbee smirked as they ascended, "We should tell Jet; that was too cool,"

**To Be Continued…**

**Ohhhh, man. Haha, that just gave you more questions, didn't it? This whole chapter took place in one day (from dawn to almost dusk)!**

**Okay, I tweaked the chapter of Avatar with the Drill for this story, but I really hope you don't mind! At least Appa's there this time! I didn't want him out of this story or it would be even longer than it is now and I personally don't like dragging.**

**Sorry again for the late replies and updates, but I assure you that they will be much earlier this time. Promise.**

**Next time on Narutar: The Lost Saga: **

"**What is THAT?! Is that a big drill?! It's HUGE!" **

"**Zuko, Zuko, wake up! The captain wants to talk!" **

"**Hey, Jet, we got some new recruits,"**

"**My mom was just like your dad,"**

"**We're going to bust straight through Ba Sing Se!"**

**Haha, you know what you get when you review! Thanks for Reading!**


	7. SagaStory 7: Twisted Intermission

_Previously, on Narutar…_

_Sokka was breathing hard at this point, and his mind was whirling with questions. He looked out one of the smaller windows on the sides of the tank, and he saw that there were other similar tanks outside. Then he looked to his left into another window, and what he saw made his eyes bulge:_

_The Drill._

_He looked his comrades with owl eyes, alarming them. Shikamaru questioned him, and all he said was,_

"_We have a problem,"_

_-_

_Aang turned to him, "It's Ba Sing se, the Earth Nation's stronghold,"_

_Neji nodded. __It has the same structure as Konoha… __"How do we get in?"_

"_Hm, that's a good question,"_

_He started to inspect it when Katara and Momo came running up to him. She looked horrified, "Aang! I just saw Fire Nation ships in a small port over by those rocks,"_

_Aang gasped, "What?" He looked at the others, and then sighed, "Alright, first, let's get to safe ground. We'll have to be in full condition before we go after Sokka," All the kids, some reluctantly, hopped right back on the flying bison, and Aang led him over into a hole they spotted in one of the mountains._

_-_

_Smellerbee smirked as they ascended, "We should tell Jet; that was too cool,"_

**VII.**

"Sokka… Hey, Sokka,"

"He's knocked out cold,"

"I don't think we should wake him…"

The Water Tribe boy slowly blinked, then his eyes fluttered open and he sat up, "WHAT TIME IS I—"

"Whoa, keep it down!" Shikamaru whispered while Ino pinned Sokka against the black metal of the tank's hull, "Troublesome… You awake now?"

"Umfrrchunateree, yesh," Sokka drawled from under Ino's hands.

"EW! Gross!" She swiped her hand away and shook the spit off it while Chouji laughed.

The other boy in the tank was looking out the porthole with his knees pulled up to his chest. He whispered to himself, "It's daybreak,"

Sokka repeated himself, ignorant to the boy, "Unfortunately, yes. What time is it?"

The female guard slid open the window that connected the two parts, attracting everyone's attention, "Daybreak; we're moving. After we break into—Well, whatever that city's called, you guys are gone. So enjoy the ride," she smirked, "It'll be your last,"

Sokka's eyes widened to the size of saucers and he quickly bobbed his head, "Yes, mam,"

"Sit!"

After she slammed the window back into place (hitting Sokka straight in the face), Sokka turned around and massaged his nose, "Great," He looked at Shikamaru, "Wanna help me out _now_?"

"Fine,"

**-Narutar POV-**

(Cave)

Katara was the first to wake; something was bothering her. During the night she kept tossing and turning from bad dreams. It wasn't even dawn when she decided to finally get up. She lifted her head off the hard ground and rubbed her neck to get the kinks out, and then she got up to stretch. After a moment of yawning, something caught her eye; someone was at the opening of the cave. She squinted, but she walked closer to get a better look. When she got there, she suddenly realized who it was, "Oh! Lee, the sun's not even up yet. Why are you up so early?"

"Oh, I always wake up early to train back home. I guess my body's used to it. Why are you up?"

"I uh," She didn't want anyone to notice her anxiousness, so she tried to cover up, "I just wanted to see the sunrise,"

Lee crookedly-smiled, "Mm-hm," he said before yawning, "Hm, I guess I should rest a bit more. You know, full condition and all,"

"Yeah, get some rest, okay?"

"Good night… or good morning…?"

Katara laughed, "Have a nice rest, Lee," Rock Lee sleepily nodded and trudged back into the cave.

The girl then bit her lip after Lee went to lay back down in the cave by the others.

"You wanted to see the sunrise?"

"What?" Katara turned to her left and saw Sasuke staring at her while leaning on the cave wall, "How long were you…"

"An hour,"

Katara blinked, "Oh,"

Sasuke then pushed off the rock and walked toward the ledge next to her, "Why are you really up?"

Katara hesitated, "I—" Sasuke glared at her, and she sighed, "Fine. I couldn't sleep; I'm too worried about Sokka. He is my brother after all… I really miss him. And then there's Aang, he's been really down since Sunset Village… you know. I can't even stay still,"

Sasuke nodded, "I've noticed,"

Katara blushed, "Oh, right," It was silent for awhile, until Sasuke got curious,

"Mind telling me what's going on?"

And that's how their conversation started… Well, Katara did all the talking while Sasuke just nodded occasionally. Sasuke wouldn't admit it, but some of the stuff she was talking about was bugging him, like the process of Reincarnation. It reminded Sasuke of something that Oro—

"Then, he ran away,"

"What?"

Katara looked him in the eye, "Aang ran away because they took one person he really loved away from him; he told me that person was like a father to him," Sasuke raised his eyebrows and looked into the cave to the Airbender who was sleeping soundly next to his pet lemur. Katara paused, and then spoke again, "I know what it feels like,"

Sasuke swiveled back to her, "Know what _what_ feels like?"

"To lose someone you love," Sasuke furrowed his brows, and Katara sat down and looked to the horizon, swinging her legs over the outcrop while watching the Sun's rays peek out from over the sandy hills, "My um… my mom died when our village was raided. This awful man took her away and—"

"—Shh," Sasuke hushed her and sat down as well, taking the guys' sitting position: arm draped over one propped-up leg while the other leg dangled from the protrusion, "I know how it feels, too,"

Katara looked up at the little bits of stars that refused to leave the dawn sky, "You do?"

"Yeah…"

Katara turned to him, "You want to talk abou—"

"What is _that_?" Sasuke bolted up and peered from the edge of the ledge to scan the land below, and Katara looked at his darkened orbs.

"What?" Sasuke pointed to a long, black mechanism that resembled a drill trudging along the horizon, and Katara gasped, "Oh my…" The girl dashed inside the cave while Sasuke glared at the corkscrewed monster.

**-Avatar POV-**

(Pirate Ship)

On the deck, a chicken-legged male with a squeaky-yet-strong voice was jabbering to his captain, who was peering through a looking-glass, "So, Cap'n, when do you plan on playin' th' cards?"

"When you shut yer yap,"

"Fuu!"

"Agh, let's just get'em now," the captain then sealed his looking-glass pressing both his hands together as if in prayer; an annoyed scowl sketched on his face.

"Nets and guns?"

"…Yess…" The skipper grabbed the one beside him, cocked it, and smirked, "Nets and guns,"

(Clearing)

Hinata yawned and rubbed her eyes to dust the morning flakes away, cursing the Sand Man when one the pieces slipped into her lavender eye. After blinking repeatedly to force it out, she opened her eyes to see she was resting in the roots of a shady tree in a clearing. She heard water close by, so she looked farther in front of her to see a brook sparkling in the sunlight. The girl smiled to herself and got up to go wash her face.

"Mmm…hmm,"

Hinata gasped and turned around; Zuko was peacefully snoring in the roots of the tree. The Hyuuga smiled to herself, he looked really placid despite the crimson-scarred epidermis splashed onto his features. The girl blushed as she tried to imagine what he looked like without the menacing blemish. Hinata bit her lip sympathetically and turned on her heel towards the river; she didn't want Zuko to wake up to her nose-bleeding. When she got to the babbling brook, she knelt down next to the flowing water and dipped her hand in. The water wandered its way between her fingers like silk sheets, making her relaxed.

(Forest)

"Which one, Cap'n?"

"We'll get th'female first, then use'er as bait for th'male. I'll git th'male,"

"I like th'way you think, Cap'n,"

"I like it when ya don't talk,"

"Aw, fuu!"

"Shursh, they might 'ear you. Now go quiet-like," After the captain spoke, the other figure in the shadows turned around and signaled to close in slowly.

**-Narutar POV-**

(Cave)

"AANG!"

The airbender bolted upright, freaking out his pet lemur in the process. He turned to Katara and asked wearily, "What's going on?"

Katara ran to his side, "Come look outside,"

Neji was the next one to rise, "What's wrong?" Tenten, Lee and Sakura woke up soon after.

Katara looked at the group nervously, "There's something outside, Aang, and I think it's the Fire Nation. Come look at it, it's huge,"

Naruto was the last to fall out of a dreamless slumber and sat lazily upright, "Wh-wha? Why is—"

Sasuke came back inside, "It's getting closer,"

Tenten spoke up, "How big is it?"

"Bigger than the Hokage Tower,"

Neji frowned, "Was is it?"

"It looks like a big drill,"

"Wait, what's going—"

Aang and the others followed Sasuke out of the mouth of the cave, leaving Naruto behind, and looked out to peer at the Drill. Neji concluded, "It's going straight for the wall,"

Aang furrowed his brows, "Not on my watch,"

Naruto was definitely confused from the volume of his voice, "Can somebody tell me what the _heck_ is going on?!"

**-Narutar POV-**

(Brook)

Crystal clear water engulfed Hinata's porcelain skin as she immersed her face in her cupped hands. Splashing the water onto her features, she smiled and let the water cascade down her bruised neck where Azula managed to hit while she led her up the ramp and into the black monster of a ship. The girl then dipped her hands into the stream when she heard a faint noise behind her; the sound of a snapped twig. Hinata immediately slapped her hands together, "Byakugan!"

As soon as the veins shot out from her eye, all she saw was a white web coming up behind her before she felt herself entangled in a net. Hinata was instantly flung over the stream and onto the other side. She hit the ground with a thump, spun into the base of a tree, and lost consciousness.

Zuko heard the twig snap, too, but the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a net-gun fired and Hinata slamming into a tree. He shot up from the roots and soon flames were seen exploding from his hands, "Let her go!"

"Go back to sleep,"

Zuko's eyes widened as he felt a presence behind him, then he felt a sharp pain in his head before he fell forward.

**-Narutar POV-**

(Hideout- Lesser Vines)

Shino popped his head out from the leaves and took a look at the hideout, "Whoa…"

The hideout was every child's dream-home: ropes with pulleys and ropes, with a device that allows one to scale its length in record time, hung loosely throughout the fort, and treehouses with ladders, stairs, slides (and any other possible escape routes that you would see if you could look into a young child's imagination) dotted here and there. There were bridges, conjoining the different porches and wooden canopy sidewalks, which criss-crossed burly branches as they sagged full of past footfalls. Kiba currently was shuffling along one with Akamaru trailing carelessly beside him.

Shino got a weird feeling in his gut after observing the hideaway, and he adjusted his glasses with knit brows, "That's strange…" Smellerbee, Longshot and Pipsqueak were pushing through the deciduous leaves after Shino got up from the branch and onto wooden flooring.

"Welcome to the Lesser Vines!" Pipsqueak bellowed as he pushed a branch away, "Don't know why we called it that; there are no vines…"

Smellerbee chided, "Duh. We just wanted a cool name. _You_ chose it, remember?"

Pipsqueak chuckled, "Oh, yeah," Pushing branches out of the way, he continued to talk, "This is only a—humph—daughter part of the actual hideout. The real hideout—ugh—is next to this one. Mph—we also have sections called The Dorm Decks, where the kids we adopt sleep; The Alpha Oaks, where Jet keeps his own hideout; and—Urahh—The Sweltering Shelters, which are for emergencies like forest fires. Umph! ... In short, our hideout is pretty large. Chock full of kids, too…" When the three of them came up from behind the branches, they stopped.

Shino turned to them and noted their confused faces, "There's no one here,"

-

When they both got to the solid landing, Akamaru pointed his snout in the air to catch a scent. The dog whined, making his owner turn back to him, "Akamaru? What is it, boy?"

The canine whined yet again and scampered to his left across the wooden boards, making a right turn a couple feet away. Kiba called after him, "Hey! Akamaru!"

-

Smellerbee ran two steps in worry and looked around, then spoke anxiously to Longshot without looking at him, "Longshot… did Jet tell you anything about this?" Turning to him, Smellerbee saw his head shake slowly. Pipsqueak took a step forward,

"Where is everybody?"

Shino folded his arms, "I was about to ask you that,"

Just then, Kiba and Akamaru came dashing back to the group, Kiba's voice stressing every syllable, "Guys, come look at this,"

Smellerbee looked at him in horror.

**-Narutar POV-**

"Your… mom?" Haru furrowed his brows at the Sand shinobi, urging him to go on.

Gaara's back was facing Haru, his aquamarine eyes glued to the ashen valley now before them. He hesitated before he spoke, "This sand…" As Gaara spoke, granular dots floated free from the gourd adorning his back, twirling slowly around the shinobi, "Is not sand you find anywhere; this is the only remnants I have of my mother…"

Haru felt bad for yelling at him earlier. He was thinking of asking Gaara how his mom died, but decided against it. Even so, Gaara answered him before he could get in another thought about it, "I killed her,"

Haru's breath caught in his throat, his eyes turning into saucers. He bit his lip and tore his gaze from Gaara's back to the gray landscape below them that he used to call 'Home'. Haru remembered when his mom died; it was the second raid the Fire Nation threw upon the town. She was captured and led away, and he never saw her again. The Earthbender looked at the shinobi, remembering what Gaara told him earlier, "So… your mom saved me?"

Gaara shrugged, "I guess so. I have no idea why, though," He then captured some sand particles in mid-air, then brought them to his face, "I guess she saw something in you that I didn't quite catch,"

Haru nodded, "My father is greatly appreciated, and so am I. I can't thank you enough for saving my father,"

Gaara turned to him, "Your father?"

Haru nodded, "Yes, my father is still alive, too. I'm thankful that—"

"—I think I know why,"

The Earthbender tilted his head, "What?"

Gaara had his aquamarine orbs locked on Haru's, "I know why my mom saved you," Haru was silent, encouraging him to tell, "Somehow, you and your dad are similar to me and my mom,"

**-Narutar POV-**

(Outskirts of Ba Sing Se Stronghold)

"Alright, first: we need to figure a way to escape if all goes wrong,"

"Right—Whoa!"

Sokka and the others jerked when the tank instantaneously started to trudge forward on its tracks. Ino fell from the bench onto a long, metal lever; her arm bruising on contact, "OUCH!" She pushed up on her damaged arm slowly, "What the heck was that?!"

The connecting window slid open yet again, "What did I say?! Keep it down or I'll smother you right here and now!"

"Hey, calm down, you can't do that,"

"Why not?!"

"Because, that kid," he said, jabbing a thumb at Sokka, "is Azula's prized prisoner. We need to keep him alive, believe it or not. If he gets killed, so will we,"

The female sneered, "Tch, whatever. What about the others?"

"Oh, you can kill them," Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and even the kid sitting next to Sokka reacted to that in an insulted manner.

The kid looking out the porthole saw the other tanks moving like black rhino-monsters across the sand. He frowned, "We'll see about that,"

No one else heard him except Sokka, who raised his eyebrows in surprise, but he didn't question him until he heard the conversation dwindle and the window click shut. The water tribe guardian turned to the boy when the coast was clear, "Hey, I'm Sokka,"

The kid looked up at him with lonesome eyes, but nevertheless gave him a small smile, "Kahn," He was a skinny kid, but from the look of his arms, he must've been training under a master. His eyes were a shade of chocolate brown that reflected the look of a child that knew more then he himself knew. His fingers were not the cleanest; his straight, dark russet hair was long enough to drape over his eyelids; and he was dressed in ragged circus clothes. Nonetheless, he had the impression of a good kid.

Sokka cheekily smiled at him as they shook tanned hands, "Hey, Kahn. Sorry I haven't introduced myself earlier, I was too caught up in—"

"—Hey, you want to escape or not?"

"Oh, right. Guys, this is Kahn. I bet he can help us bust outta here, how 'bout it?" He looked at the kid.

Kahn nodded without hesitation, and that's when the tank stopped. The kids heard a blend of yells coming from the front half of the tank, and they strained their ears to listen.

"Alright, what the heck is going on?!"

"We stopped, you dimwit,"

"I know _that_, but _why _did we stop?"

"Why don't you ask the commander? He's on top of the turret,"

"I'm not getting out of this tank. You go ask,"

Suddenly the hatch from the ceiling of the vehicle opened with a short hiss, "Hold on, we spotted pedestrians,"

"Pedestrians? Way out here?"

"Yeah, they stopped their caravan right in front of The Drill,"

The female fiddled with a wheel-like contraption and said flatly, "Just shoot them, then,"

Sokka's, as well as everyone else's, chins slid down the window as they gaped at what they heard the woman say. Who wouldn't if you heard someone say something so homicidal like that so tranquilly? Its ring still burned Sokka's ear. He lingered on the thought of wringing that female's neck as soon as he got a chance. Someday, he thought, as soon as Aang is a fully realized Avatar and he becomes his right hand man, Sokka would command that all _women_—His thoughts were interrupted by the Commander's response after a long drawn-out sigh,

"No, it's not that simple. Princess Azula told us not to openly shoot the Avatar,"

**To be continued...**

* * *

(A/N:) UH-OH! Yet another agonizing cliffhanger… Wow, I'm mean, aren't I? Alright, sorry it took longer than honey to rot to get this next chapter posted, but school's kicking my butt _hard_ this time of the year. You guys know what I'm talking about, right? With the Benchmarks slamming down on our heads and all, it's pretty difficult to focus on writing. I also said in the "interview" on my page that getting outside was my biggest writers' block… Well, yeah, I'm playing on my school tennis team, too, so… Need to stay fit for the Spring Tournaments! Well, you know what you get if you review, I'll try to get it to you as soon as possible!

To **Marie**: No, that was planned, but nice layout! Haha. I might need ideas for further, further on chapters if you're still hanging in there!

Next time on Narutar: the Lost Saga… Well, just review, leave an e-mail if you're not a member, and I'll exchange you a sneak peek! Thanks for reading, guys, and thanks for the encouragement so far!


	8. SagaStory 8: Result's of Writer's Hiatus

Hello again.

_Previously, on Narutar…_

_The girl then dipped her hands into the stream when she heard a faint noise behind her; the sound of a snapped twig. Hinata immediately slapped her hands together, "Byakugan!" _

_As soon as the veins shot out from her eye, all she saw was a white web coming up behind her before she felt herself entangled in a _net_. Hinata was instantly flung over the stream and onto the other side. She hit the ground with a thump, spun into the base of a tree, and lost consciousness._

_Zuko heard the twig snap, too, but the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a net-gun fired and Hinata slamming into a tree. He shot up from the roots and soon flames were seen exploding from his hands, "Let her go!"_

"_Go back to sleep,"_

_Zuko's eyes widened as he felt a presence behind him, then he felt a sharp pain in his head before he fell forward._

-

_Smellerbee ran two steps in worry and looked around, then spoke anxiously to Longshot without looking at him, "Longshot… did Jet tell you anything about this?" Turning to him, Smellerbee saw his head shake slowly. Pipsqueak took a step forward,_

"_Where is everybody?"_

_Shino folded his arms, "I was about to ask you that,"_

_Just then, Kiba and Akamaru came dashing back to the group, Kiba's voice stressing every syllable, "Guys, come look at this,"_

_Smellerbee looked at him in horror._

-

_Haru nodded, "My father is greatly appreciated, and so am I. I can't thank you enough for saving my father,"_

_Gaara turned to him, "Your father?"_

_Haru nodded, "Yes, my father is still alive, too. I'm thankful that—"_

"—_I think I know why,"_

_The Earthbender tilted his head, "What?"_

_Gaara had his aquamarine orbs locked on Haru's, "I know why my mom saved you," Haru was silent, encouraging him to tell, "Somehow, you and your dad are similar to me and my mom,"_

_-_

_The water tribe guardian turned to the boy when the coast was clear, "Hey, I'm Sokka,"_

_The kid looked up at him with lonesome eyes, but nevertheless gave him a small smile, "Kahn,"_

_-_

"_Oh, right. Guys, this is Kahn. I bet he can help us bust outta here, how 'bout it?" He looked at the kid. _

_Kahn nodded without hesitation, and that's when the tank stopped. The kids heard a blend of yells coming from the front half of the tank, and they strained their ears to listen._

_-_

_The female fiddled with a wheel-like contraption and said flatly, "Just shoot them, then,"_

"_No, it's not that simple. Princess Azula told us not to openly shoot the Avatar,"_

**VIII.**

(Pirate Ship. Three Hours 'til Daybreak. Hinata)

"Alright, I need all hands on deck. Now!"

"Aye aye, Cap'n!"

White eyes fluttered open from the resonating sounds of creaking doors and whirling footsteps. Hinata blinked twice. Then her gut tapped her on the shoulder, and she gasped. The girl pulled herself up, only to get yanked down by metal snakes clasping around her hands and feet. Hinata took a look at her adorned wrists through the cracks of sunlight peeking through the roof above her head. .

Shackles.

The Hyuuga sighed in defeat, "Not again," She then heard the sounds of a gruff man barking orders above her,

"I need all hands on deck! Pull them in! Pull them in!"

Hinata sat upright, ignoring the pained it caused in her back, and darted her eyes around, "Am I on a…" Suddenly she heard someone shift next to her, and she jumped back. The girl would've hit the ceiling if the chains weren't there to hold her down. She whispered, "W-Who's there?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry, didn't mean to frighten you,"

The two of them were at least two meters apart; at different sides of the cell. Hinata was by the barnacle-adorned bars; the other by the back wall by a small musty-looking porthole. The girl tilted her head, "W-Who are you?"

"My name is Iroh, but you can call me Uncle, milady,"

"U…Uncle?"

-

-

(Hideout. Daybreak. Shino; Kiba; Akamaru; Smellerbee; Pipsqueak; Longshot)

"Hurry!"

Smellerbee, Pipsqueak, Longshot, and Shino rushed to where Kiba and Akamaru were. As soon as they got near Akamaru, the dog ran ahead. Kiba waited until they were there to start leading them. He growled, "This is not good," Smellerbee's teeth grinded together, and Pipsqueak and Longshot furrowed their brows. Shino adjusted his glasses while running while thinking to himself. After a right turn, they all stopped, and held their breath.

Black.

What a night it must've been.

Smoke drifted up from numerous smothered branches; ashen wood shavings pricked off blackened treehouses; bridges hung on single ropes if they didn't dismember themselves from the burst outcrops already; crackling fires burned within other small wooden buildings; and black streaks ran across every tree you could see.

One didn't have to turn their head to tell that Smellerbee was the one biting back tears. Kiba picked up Akamaru while Pipsqueak and Longshot stepped in front of the group and scanned the area for any kids. Shino pushed up his glasses while shaking his head, "What a mess."

Kiba nodded in bitter agreement, "It seemed like a nice place, too."

Bits and pieces of the Freedom Fighters' conversation could be heard.

"When did this happen? We were only gone for three hours."

A nod.

Suddenly Smellerbee bolted away from everyone, and Kiba turned around, "Hey! Where are you going?!"

"Jet! Jet!"

-

-

(Sunset Village. Morning. Gaara and Haru.)

"Me and my… yours and your… What are you saying?" Haru was beyond confused at this point. Who knows how long they've been standing on that desolate hill, overlooking the weary landscape of what used to be a busy town the day before. Or was it two days?

"I don't know what's going on, but, for whatever reason, you and your father were meant to be alive," Gaara kept his gaze towards the rising sun, his aquamarine eyes shimmering with curiousness. Haru decided to just nod his head, and followed Gaara's gaze.

There was a moment of silence, then the sand shinobi spoke, "Bring me to your dad. I think my mom wants to meet him."

"Follow me."

-

-

(Fire Nation Rhino Tank. Morning. Sokka; Shikamaru; Ino; Chouji; Kahn.)

Sokka's spine tingled at Aang's universal title. His mind suddenly kicked into a fastbreak, and his thoughts went haywire. They needed to get out of there. Now.

Sokka pulled Shikamaru towards him, and he whispered in his ear, "Okay, here's the plan."

"Wait," Shikamaru held up his hand, and craned his neck toward Ino and Chouji, "Guys."

"What is it Shikamaru?" Chouji whispered, to Shikamaru's luck.

"You three…" he then looked at Sokka's hand that was still grasping his collar, "Uh, Sokka, do you mind…?"

"Oh, right."

Shikamaru then pushed Sokka forward and leaned forward at the same time, so that they were both looking at the hatchdoor on the floor of the tank, "Okay, everybody huddle."

As soon as all five of them were face-to-face with the hatch, Shikamaru spoke barely above a whisper, "Okay, I have a way to get out of here, but it's pretty risky. Sokka,"

"Yeah?"

"How do these tanks work? Is there an alarm system anywhere in here?"

Sokka thought for a moment and looked around, "Um, I'm not so sure, but I'm pretty sure there's an-Aha, there it is." The water tribe boy pointed toward a row of small sensors under the benches, "Those are our problem. As soon as the hatch opens, those guys activate."

Shikamaru peered at the sensors now that they were at eye-level. One could not see them unless they were looking between their legs and under the bench. There were five below each bench, and they were beeping red, "Lasers?"

"Most likely," Sokka sighed, "But if you wanna get technical—"

"—No. Don't plan on it."

"O-okay. Just trying to make a joke…"

Shikamaru got back in his zone, "Okay, so here's what we're going to do. Chouji, do you still have your kunai with you?"

"I only had time to hide four in a chip bag. They took the rest."

"That'll do. Give me two."

"Got it."

"Ino, can you do your Mind Transfer Jutsu from behind?"

"I never tried it, but I'm pretty sure I can do it."

Shikamaru nodded as Chouji handed him two kunai, "Okay. Sokka," The water tribe boy raised his eyebrows and smiled, making Shikamaru roll his eyes, "Here's the plan. I'm going to try and open the hatch, so you and Kahn are going to distract the guards. As soon as the hatch opens, Chouji and I will use two kunai to reflect the lasers over the hatch to hopefully get rid of the other sensors."

Sokka nodded, "Sounds good, but, how are we going to distract the guards?"

Shikamaru smirked, "With these." He held up the weapons, and Sokka's eyes sparkled,

"Awesome!"

Kahn put a hand on Sokka's shoulder, calming him down, "Right. Sorry." Then he smiled as he swiped a kunai from Shikamaru.

"Hey! Be careful!" Nara whispered.

"I know I know."

"Troublesome. Okay, the female guard will most likely take up the kunai from you, and when she does—Ino—you will use your Mind Transfer Jutsu to take over her body, quickly take out her partner, and turn off the sensors, got it?"

"Got it."

Shikamaru turned away from the rest of them and kneeled down to get a good look at the alarm system, "Good. Okay, Sokka. Kahn. Don't hurt yourselves. We don't have time for mistakes."

As soon as he said that he heard a shriek ring through the walls of the tank, "YEEEOW!"

-

-

"Ow! Sorry, it just hurt, that's all."

"No no no, I'm the one that should say sorry."

(Pirate Ship dungeon. Morning. Hinata and Uncle Iroh.)

Hinata wrung her unchained wrists after Uncle released them, "How did you do that?"

"Oh, I've had some experience with cells and shackles," The former sighed as he propped himself up against the wall by his cell partner.

The girl blinked in confusion, "So… You're not going to get yourself out?"

Uncle shook his head, "I never said I wasn't going to. I'm just waiting for the right time to escape."

"No one's escaping anytime soon."

A gruff voice caused the two to look out of their cell. A man dressed in heavy Fire Nation armor stood before their cell, gripping a boy by the collar. The boy twisted fiercely,

"Let me go!"

"Sure." The man then chucked the teen into an open cell opposite the hall from Hinata's and Uncle's, "Now sit, boy."

Uncle Iroh immediately frowned. Hinata watched the boy roar as he hit a wall of his chamber. It was uncle who spoke after the howl's intense echo died down. He spoke with lucid fury, "Admiral Zhao."

"It's Commander now."

"What's the difference between a pig and a _swine_?"

Admiral/ Commander Zhao thrust his hand out and released a twist of flames that invaded the cell. If it hadn't been for Uncle's quick reflexes to redirect the flames into the opposite wall, Hinata would have burned. The boy furrowed his brows in helplessness as the girl gasped and covered her face with dirty hands. Uncle Iroh glared at the Fire Nation general and Zhao spoke, "Don't mock me again, or else."

"What have you become, Zhao?" Uncle glowered, "Using your power to strike fear into the hearts of young ones to get a point across? And an irrelevant one at that."

Zhao just snuffed and walked away. After two steps, he turned his back, "Why don't you ask that question to your nephew? He's on this ship, right?"

Before Uncle could open his mouth, Zhao already closed the door to the brig.

Hinata slowly took her hands away from her face, "Is…Is he gone?"

Uncle smoothed her ruffled hair, "Don't worry. He's gone."

Hinata sighed and looked over into the other cell. She saw the boy leaning his head against the wall; a signal of defeat. He reminded her of seeing Naruto like that sometimes. She wanted to talk to him, but decided he had enough problems to deal with.

Uncle sighed and looked up to the cracks of sunlight piercing their cell ceiling though the wooden planks, "Someday… karma is going to swallow him up like a lobster-whale."

"Or fry him into bacon like the Fire Nation _swine_ he is."

Hinata and Iroh looked at the boy in the other cell, and Uncle was the first to ask, "Why were you with Commander Zhao?"

"It's a long story."

"Seeing as we're held down in shackles in a pirate ship, I think we have a bit of time for a long story."

The boy frowned, but Iroh kept up the conversation. Hinata smiled at Uncle's antics; she loved the atmosphere around him. The girl couldn't put her finger on it, but she really liked something else about the man in her cell, something bigger.

Iroh continued, "Let's start with your name."

The boy hesitated, and then decided to just go along with it. He seethed out every syllable, "My name is Jet. Commander Zhao burned down my hideout and captured me. He said he wanted to sell me to the pirates, but after he found who they were holding hostage, the only thing Zhao wanted to do was seize their ship and bring it into Ba Sing Se's port, which is probably where we're about to dock right now. Don't see what's so special about _you_, though, firebender."

Hinata blinked while Uncle just frowned, "See? That didn't take long."

-

-

(Ba Sing Se Outskirts. Daybreak. Aang; the Others; the Drill.)

Aang stood firmly with his glider as the others stood around Appa.

He was looking up at Azula, who was standing on the top deck of the Drill before her two cronies.

His voice bellowed, "Where's Sokka?!"

She took to biting her nails again, and then turned on her heel, walking right back into the Drill, "I don't have time for this," She said to the Commander of the mechanism, "Start for the wall; we're running behind schedule."

"What about the Avatar?" Mae drawled from the window.

"He'll be on his way up here soon. Don't worry."

"Joy." Mae said as she walked out of the Captain's room with Tai Lee.

-

-

-

(How about a change of scenery? Or dimensions for that matter)

(Konohagakure. Hokage Tower. 12:46 P.M. Hokage; Kakashi; Jiraiya)

"Kakashi… Kakashi…" The same name, repeated over and over as the Hokage paced back and forth in front of his desk. He was gripping a pipe in his left hand.

"Master Hokage, it's getting late." Kakashi was starting to buckle under all the weight his name was putting on him, being slung over his shoulder numerous times. If he had earned five yen for each time he heard his name that night, he would have bounced all the way to his favorite book store to buy enough "Ichi Ichi Paradise" books to have him fired as an ANBU black-ops.

And Jiraiya would've bounced all the way to the nearest pub from his earnings off Kakashi.

But there was no bouncing, just the shuffling feet of a distressed Hokage. Finally, he spoke not a name or a word, but a sentence, "This world is in danger."

Kakashi nodded gravely. As did Jiraiya.

"And no one here can stop it."

This is where he eventually lost them. The three of them have had these gatherings every night for the past three days; the Hokage would inform them about how their students were progressing (well, in Jiraiya's case, stu_dent_), and then they would stand in his office, waiting for him to tell them why the heck their student/students were there in the first place.

That's right. Not even Kakashi or Jiraiya knew what was going on.

You thought _you _were the only one asking questions?

"Master Hokage, we are well aware of what you have said, but I'm pretty sure neither Kakashi nor I have any idea as to _why_ you are saying those things. Why did Kakashi have to use his… —_that_ jutsu in the first place?!" Jiraiya finally cracked after Day 6. He didn't have any more patience. Kakashi was the next egg out of the carton.

The Hokage stopped and looked out the big window that surrounded the room, observing the few stars that poked out of the indigo sail.

Oh, the holes of heaven were in abundance that night.

He answered with his back turned, "It's about time you asked."

* * *

(A/N:) (Sigh) I'm _so_ sorry guys. This has been the biggest gap yet (well, in this story anyway; there are worse.) Long story short, updates won't be as fast as they once were. (Grr) I'm not holding any shields, so go ahead and spike me with tomatoes. It's the least I can do for being on as long a hiatus as the actual Avatar writers themselves... (ha...ha? my attempt at humor)

Next time on Narutar: The Lost Saga... I can't promise review replies this time, as some of you already know. :( Sorry about that guys. BUT! This story is DEFINITELY _not_ over. The updates will come.

Just not soon.

A small warning.

* * *


	9. SagaStory 9: Retrieval!

Disclaimer: I do not own _Naruto _or _Avatar: the Last Airbender._

_

* * *

_

_Previously, on Narutar…_

_Smoke drifted up from numerous smothered branches; ashen wood shavings pricked off blackened treehouses; bridges hung on single ropes if they didn't dismember themselves from the burst outcrops already; crackling fires burned within other small wooden buildings; and black streaks ran across every tree you could see._

_One didn't have to turn their head to tell that Smellerbee was the one biting back tears. Kiba picked up Akamaru while Pipsqueak and Longshot stepped in front of the group and scanned the area for any kids. Shino pushed up his glasses while shaking his head, "What a mess."_

_Kiba nodded in bitter agreement, "It seemed like a nice place, too."_

_Bits and pieces of the Freedom Fighters' conversation could be heard._

_"When did this happen? We were only gone for three hours."_

_A nod._

_Suddenly Smellerbee bolted away from everyone, and Kiba turned around, "Hey! Where are you going?"_

_"Jet! Jet!"_

_

* * *

_

_"I don't know what's going on, but, for whatever reason, you and your father were meant to be alive," Gaara kept his gaze towards the rising sun, his aquamarine eyes shimmering with curiousness. Haru decided to just nod his head, and followed Gaara's gaze._

_There was a moment of silence, then the sand shinobi spoke, "Bring me to your dad. I think my mom wants to meet him."_

_"Follow me."_

_

* * *

_

_"Hey! Be careful!" Nara whispered._

_"I know I know."_

_"Troublesome. Okay, the female guard will most likely take up the kunai from you, and when she does—Ino—you will use your Mind Transfer Jutsu to take over her body, quickly take out her partner, and turn off the sensors, got it?"_

_"Got it."_

_Shikamaru turned away from the rest of them and kneeled down to get a good look at the alarm system, "Good. Okay, Sokka. Kahn. Don't hurt yourselves. We don't have time for mistakes."_

_As soon as he said that he heard a shriek ring through the walls of the tank, "YEEEOW!"_

_"Ow! Sorry, it just hurt, that's all."_

_"No no no, I'm the one that should say sorry."_

_

* * *

_

_The boy hesitated, and then decided to just go along with it. He seethed out every syllable, "My name is Jet. Commander Zhao burned down my hideout and captured me. He said he wanted to sell me to the pirates, but after he found who they were holding hostage, the only thing Zhao wanted to do was seize their ship and bring it into Ba Sing Se's port, which is probably where we're about to dock right now. Don't see what's so special about__you__, though, firebender."_

_Hinata blinked while Uncle just frowned, "See? That didn't take long."_

_

* * *

_

_Aang stood firmly with his glider as the others stood around Appa._

_He was looking up at Azula, who was standing on the top deck of the Drill before her two cronies._

_His voice bellowed, "Where's Sokka?"_

_She took to biting her nails again, and then turned on her heel, walking right back into the Drill, "I don't have time for this," She said to the Commander of the mechanism, "Start for the wall; we're running behind schedule."_

_"What about the Avatar?" Mae drawled from the window._

_"He'll be on his way up here soon. Don't worry."_

_"Joy." Mae said as she walked out of the Captain's room with Tai Lee._

_

* * *

_

_"This world is in danger."_

_Kakashi nodded gravely. As did Jiraiya._

_"And no one here can stop it."_

_"Master Hokage, we are well aware of what you have said, but I'm pretty sure neither Kakashi nor I have any idea as to__why__you are saying those things. Why did Kakashi have to use his… —__that__jutsu in the first place?" Jiraiya finally cracked after Day 6. He didn't have any more patience. Kakashi was the next egg out of the carton._

_The Hokage stopped and looked out the big window that surrounded the room, observing the few stars that poked out of the indigo sail._

_Oh, the holes of heaven were in abundance that night._

_He answered with his back turned, "It's about time you asked."_

_

* * *

_

**IX.**

**

* * *

**

(Brig. Daybreak. Jet, Iroh, Hinata.)

"You don't understand! They've taken everything away from me! My home, my friends, my _honor_! That Fire Nation swine has taken everything and I can't do anything to stop—"

"—Quiet down!" Iroh bellowed from the other cell across the way from Jet's. The boy was screaming like a madman and Iroh could hear the pirates laughing from above. He tried his best to calm the boy down and knock some sense into him, "Don't you know you're only egging them on? They can hear you."

Hinata watched the boy as he just inhaled and exhaled roughly, attempting to calm down. She stared on and saw him then scrunch up his hand.

Jet seethed, still on his rant, "I will avenge my people. He's not getting away with this."

Suddenly the door to the brig swung opened and pounded the wall with a bang. Shouts and grunting could be heard, and soon there was the sound of someone being thrown onto the ground. Then, a cell door closed on the other side of the brig.

The person being locked up growled, "Agh! Let me out!"

Hinata and Iroh recognized who it was.

"T-that's…!" Hinata gasped and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she activated her kekkei genkai, "Byakugan!"

Uncle was about to get up when he saw her veins pop out of her skin. He furrowed his brows and whispered, "That's interesting…" With him and Jet watching, Hinata looked through the walls of the brig to see the figure of Zuko grabbing onto the bars of his cell. He was about five cells down from them. The girl then returned back to her normal vision and turned toward Iroh,

"He's about five cells down from ours," she said. Then she realized that they weren't from her world, so they couldn't comprehend how she knew that, "O-Oh, I'm sorry, I—"

Uncle hushed her and smiled, "That's a great gift you have."

Hinata gasped at his sudden remark.

* * *

(Freedom Fighters' Hideout. Daybreak. Smellerbee, Longshot, Pipsqueak, Shino, Kiba, Akamaru.)

"Jet! Where are you?" Smellerbee tore down the place with her search. She looked everywhere and turned over every burnt piece of wood she could find. Kiba, Shino, Longshot and Pipsqueak followed behind her, deciding whether or not to stop her.

Akamaru barked at Kiba as they were running side-by-side. The boy turned toward him and asked him what was wrong. After the dog barked again, Kiba understood, "Good idea, Akamaru!" He then called Longshot and Pipsqueak, and they stopped and turned to face him,

"Guys, do you have anything that smells like Jet?"

The two looked at each other and searched their bags. After a few reaches, Pipsqueak pulled out a flute-like contraption, "Uhh, sometimes Jet plays on this when we're out scouting? I don't think he's used it in some time, though."

Kiba nodded, "That's good enough. Akamaru has an extremely good sense of smell… And so do I. Give it here really fast."

The Freedom Fighter threw the instrument to Kiba and he knelt down for Akamaru to sniff it. After sniffing it himself, both of them pointed somewhere and started running. Kiba called out to the others. "Guys! Follow us! Jet's this way!"

Shino jumped after them, and Longshot and Pipsqueak went to go get Smellerbee. When they reached her, they both took her by the shoulders. The girl screamed,

"Let go of me! We got to find—"

"—That guy knows where Jet is," Pipsqueak told her. He pointed to the two shinobi standing on a branch a couple meters away from them, waving for them to follow.

Smellerbee nodded, and the three Freedom Fighters rushed after the two Konoha ninjas.

* * *

(Sunset Village. Daybreak. Gaara, Haru, Tyro.)

Haru made his way around the rubble, Gaara smoothly following him. The earthbender called out to his dad, who was meditating near a still-upright wall, "Dad!"

The man looked up at his son, "What is it, Haru?"

"This man wants to see you," replied Haru, pointing over his shoulder at the Sand shinobi. His dad looked over to give Gaara a look, and he nodded,

"Come, sit down."

Gaara came next to him and sat down, something he would not usually do. He would've stood and talked, but he respected this man enough to follow his orders. Haru just thought he was being nice, though.

The redhead looked at Tyro, "My mom wants to speak with you." Suddenly all the sand from Gaara's gourd and went straight toward the man.

Haru screamed, "DAD!"

* * *

(Outskirts of Ba Sing Se. Daybreak. Azula, Mai, Ty Lee; Aang, Katara, Toph, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Tenten, Lee.)

"Azula! Stop!"

The door shut before Aang could get in another word. The airbender looked toward Katara, "I'm going up there! You guys take down the tanks!"

Katara screamed back, "Aang, don't! That's exactly what Azula wants you to do! We should retreat and come back!"

Lee looked at Katara and said sternly, "Katara, I think Aang should go. Your brother could be up there."

Sasuke looked at the many tanks surrounding the Drill. Activating his Sharingan, he searched for any notable chakra. Suddenly he spotted the tank with Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino. He called to Sakura, who was standing by Katara, "Sakura, I spotted Team Ten in one of the tanks."

The kunoichi gasped, "Really? Which one?"

Sasuke told her it was one of the tanks in the back. Sakura then called the rest of the gang over.

Katara called up at Aang, "Aang! We need to make a plan first!"

The airbender turned to her and leapt off of Appa. They joined Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Tenten, Neji, Lee, and Toph on the ground. She was making up a plan on the spot. First, they needed to find Sokka. However, they also needed to rescue Team 10. Sakura thought it would be a little convenient if they were in the same tank.

"Okay guys, we need a plan. Sasuke said he saw Team Ten in one of the tanks in the back. If we can get rid of all the other tanks first, we can retrieve them and—"

"—Wait," it was Lee who spoke up, "Shouldn't we get the other girl first?"

Neji explained the situation to him, "If we can retrieve Team Ten, we can strengthen our numbers and have a better chance of rescuing Sokka."

Naruto spoke up after him, "He's right."

Lee just looked at him before nodding. Tenten nodded, too.

Sakura continued to take action, "Okay, so what we'll do is this: Lee, I want you and Sasuke to go get Team Ten. Sasuke knows which tank they're in, so it shouldn't be too hard. Neji, Tenten, Toph, and Katara, you guys stay here with me so we can get rid of the rest of the tanks. From the looks of things…" She trailed off before mentally estimating how many tans there were, "There's about twenty of them."

Toph snorted, "Too easy," She then corrected Sakura, "Oh, there's twenty-four, to be exact."

Sakura nodded and continued, "Okay, so that means we can split it up. Neji and Katara, you take the eight left tanks. Tenten, you and I will take down the middle eight tanks. Toph, you're fine on your own right?"

"Psh, chyeah."

"Okay, good. Next, Naruto, go with Aang to the chamber where that girl is waiting. Aang, is that o…" It seemed that the boy disappeared. Sakura straightened up, "Where's Aang?"

The others looked around, and Naruto spotted him already up on the balcony of the Drill, going into the door. He yelled out to him, "Aang, wait!" and dashed over there before the others could say anything to him. As soon as Naruto got onto the Drill, it started moving.

Sakura looked at the others with a frown, "Okay, we have to do this now!"

"Right!" was the unanimous response before everyone went to do their part.

* * *

(Fire Nation Tank. Daybreak. Sokka, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Kahn, Two guards.)

"What the—"

"Would you brats quiet down?"

The two guards up front were glaring at the kids in the back. Ino had just hit her funny-bone on the metal of the tank because Chouji accidentally bumped it. It caused a shot of pain to fly through her, so she instinctively had to yelp. She quickly apologized, acting like an innocent young lady, "Heh… sorry."

The woman sneered, "Tch, little urchins."

Ino glared at the back of her head and thought, _I'll show you, lady._

Sokka then remembered the plan, and he showed off his weapon to the guard, "Ooooh, lookie what I have!" Kahn twirled the kunai he had on his finger, looking at the guard with a stoic face.

The woman saw the kunai in their hands, and she pulled her arm through the window to grab Sokka's, "Hey! You're not allowed to…"

Her eyes magnified in shock. She felt like her mind went numb, and it felt like someone was prodding through it. She thought to herself, _What… What is happening to me?_

_Sorry, woman, but you're _mine _now. Aren't so tough now, are you?_

The guard recognized the voice as the girl she was talking to. She became white in horror, and she mentally yelled.

In the meantime, Shikamaru already unscrewed the wheel of the hatch, which immediately set off the alarm system. Within seconds, according to plan, Shikamaru and Chouji effectively reflected the lasers a the right angle to destroy the others. Sokka cheered,

"All right!"

Kahn then grabbed his shoulder and pointed to the hatch, signaling that they had to get out of there.

Sokka, nodded, "Let's go!—"

Suddenly the kids heard a strange sound, like a thousand birds were flying around tank. In that instant, the roof of the tank was broken into many pieces and two people came crashing down into the tank. One was wearing a green jumpsuit and one was wearing a black outfit.

Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji noticed who they were right away, and they were shocked, "Lee! Sasuke!"

Sokka gaped for a second before noticing Lee, "Lee! Where did you guys come from?"

Lee turned to Sokka, "Oh! You're in here, too! Thank goodness!"

Sokka nodded rapidly before replying, "Where are the others?"

Shikamaru had to interrupt because he sensed that Ino was running out of chakra, "Guys, let's head out!"

The rest of them nodded, and they all jumped out of the hole Sasuke made with his chidori. Ino came back to her own body while Shikamaru carried her out.

When they jumped out of the tank, Lee pointed in the direction of the others, "They're over there!"

Chouji yelled, "We gotta help them!"

Sokka looked at Kahn, wondering if he could take part in fights. He decided to ask him just to make sure, "Kahn, will you be able to fight with us? If not, I can protect you."

The boy just looked at him with deep eyes, "Don't worry about me."

Sokka just furrowed his brows and nodded, "Okay, then. Let's go!"

They all sped back toward the others.

* * *

(Drill Interior, Top Suite. Twenty minutes after daybreak. Aang.)

"Azula? Azula, where are you?" Aang searched the top room of the Drill for the Fire Nation princess, his right hand clutching his staff a little too hard. Naruto got up to the room and called in the doors,

"Aang! You in there?"

"Yeah, I'm over here!"

Naruto went inside to where the Avatar was. He looked around the room to see a bunch of extravagant pillows and pillars, "What is this place?"

A feminine voice interrupted them, "This is my room. Do you like it?"

Aang and Naruto spun around to see Azula, their expressions fierce.

The princess stifled a laugh, "Two wannabe heroes itching to fight royalty. How sweet."

Naruto frowned, "I'm getting tired of your sarcasm! Cut it out of I'll destroy you!"

Azula raised an eyebrow, "Oh, really?"

Aang turned to Naruto, "We have to find Sokka. Don't do anything yet."

Azula smirked, "Oh, you won't find Sokka here. He's probably somewhere in the Fire Nation, now. "

Aang growled, "What?"

The princess went on with her lie, "Yeah. He's probably locked up in some prison by now, starving to death. Oh, well, he lived a good life, having met the Avatar and all."

Aang bellowed, "That's it! You're going down!"

Naruto shouted, too, "Let's get her, Aang!"

They flung themselves toward Azula, who still had the smirk on her face.

* * *

(Konahagakure. 1:00 PM. Hokage, Kakashi, Jiraiya.)

Jiraiya and Kakashi frowned. Something didn't seem right.

Kakashi spoke up first, "Master Hokage, what do you mean? Why did I have to use my Mangekyou Sharingan on my own students? On _all_ of the students, even the sand shinobi?"

Hiruzen frowned, "Kakashi, you know my days are numbered."

The Copy Ninja stopped and loosened up.

Jiraiya folded his arms, "So by sending these kids to another dimension… what does that do?"

"This world is in grave danger. If the Ninja system continues to exist, there will be countless wars that will cycle between the nations, causing eternal struggle. Currently, there is no one who is capable of bringing worldwide peace."

Jiraiya and Kakashi didn't say a word, urging the Hokage to continue.

Hiruzen sighed, "Kakashi, Jiraiya, there is hope. Apparently, there is a rumor among the Five Kages that there is a person who has the power to change the world."

The two looked at each other, and looked back at the Hokage, "Naruto, right?"

Hiruzen smirked, "No, I'm talking about the Avatar. The Avatar is a person from the dimension over from us that can change his world and become its ruler. I want Naruto to learn from him so that he can gain as much knowledge as he can. After all…"

The two looked at him again, already knowing what he's going to say.

"That boy is going to be Hokage someday. He might as well bring peace to the whole world while he's at it."

* * *

To Be Continued...

* * *

Note: Yay! I came back to this story after so long! I hope it was worth reading! I plan to continue this story. Let me know if you like it, and couples can _still_ be voted on! Get your vote in! I'll tally all of the votes after the next chapter or so. Thanks for reading!

Cookies!: I haven't done this in a while, but if you review, I'll give you a snippet of the next chapter! :D


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